Odd Occurences & A Past Visit: Revenge & Justice
by Yami Kero
Summary: Couple of new surprises for Duel Academia. Ryu & a couple of other students arrive after passing their dueling test. Also, Osiris Red gets a new overseer. Yet things start to act weird later on. JxA,SxOC,OCxOC.
1. Prologue

**Odd Occurences & A Past Visit: Revenge & Justice**

Hey y'all. For those that are Yu-gi-oh! GX fans, you'll probably like this. It's a Jaden/Asuka pairing, yet I'm also throwing in some other characters as well, so there's also an OCxOC pairing as well. But it's mainly along those two lines. And just to let you know…there is a mention about what happens in the second part of the 1st season, &…I'll be adding another deck, totally different from the first deck of Jaden. (MAJOR SPOILER'S WARNING: Hayato (Chumley) & Kaiser Ryo (Zane) leave near the end of the 1st season, & Jaden gets a new deck in the second season). This will take place during the 3rd chapter, as well as the climactic chapter later on. (ANOTHER SPOILER WARNING: I'm going to mention what happens later on in the 2nd part of the 1st season). And just to let y'all know…I'm also going to be using some of the Japanese dueling terms. (NOTE: I DON'T speak the Japanese language fluently; only know some words/phrases/short sentences.)

And…another thing, this first chapter is actually the prologue of my whole story. So…I'm going to have to do a bit of time-traveling a bit for some of my characters.

_**Character List:**_

_**Yuki Judai – Yuki Jaden**_

_**Tenjoin Asuka – Alexis Rhodes**_

_**Tenjoin Fubuki – Atticus Rhodes**_

_**Manjyoume Jun – Chazz Princeton**_

_**Marufuji Sho – Syrus Trusdale**_

_**Marufuji Ryo – Zane Trusdale**_

_**Maeda Hayato – Chumley Huffington**_

_**Misawa Daichi – Bastian Misawa**_

_**Chronos de Medici – Dr. Vellian Crowler**_

_**Daitokuji – Dr. Banner**_

_**Sameshima – Chancellor Shepard**_

_**Tyranno Kenzan **_

_**OC Characters:**_

_**Ryu Tanabi (Spiral Dragon) – 18 **_

_**Tobias Gramfield – 15**_

_**Andros Landers – 16**_

_**Lazarth Grimstone (alias name: Baxter Hammingson) – 24**_

_**Relena Darson – 17**_

_**Cornelia Darson – 19**_

_**Taylor Anderson - 14**_

**_Hotaru – 36 (appears in 2nd chapter)_**

_**NOTE: This prologue dates back to 7 years ago. (So…if you guys do the math…you'll be a bit surprised at the age that they played DM). (And…the GX characters aren't in this one, but in the next chapter).**_

_Enjoy._

**Prologue: Elemental Combo!**

The dueling arena was bustling with noise as the spectators watched intently on a 11 year-old boy with black hair & blue eyes walked towards the duel arena.

Ryu just liked entering tournaments just for the fun of it. He didn't mind whether he won or lost, or even if he actually managed to win a whole tournament. The prize didn't matter much to him either, which of course was $50,000. Luckily for him…he still had enough in his savings account.

A blond haired boy with spiky yellow hair wearing a red jacket & blue jeans stepped onto the duel arena.

"Humph…I'm surprised you managed to make it this far, chump," said Tracy.

"All because I managed to keep my cool under tense pressure," said Ryu.

"That may be true, but your journey ends here," said Tracy, smirking.

"You won't be smiling for long after I'm through with you," said Ryu.

Decks & duel disks set, the duel was underway.

"I'll make the first move," said Tracy. "I'll first play Pot of Greed, drawing 2 cards from my Deck. Then I play 7 Colored Fish in attack mode & place 2 cards face down & end my turn."

"Typical. I'll play Swords of Revealing Light, stopping your monsters for 3 turns, then I'll place 2 cards face-down, place one monster in defense mode & play Array of Revealing Light," said Ryu. "And due to its effect, I'll declare… the "Sea-Serpent" type."

'Oh no. That means I won't be able to attack him,' thought Tracy, in frustration.

"I end my turn," said Ryu.

"You'll regret that, punk," said Tracy, drawing his next card. "I play the magic card Cyclone, to destroy your Swords of Revealing Light, then I play Heavy Storm, to destroy all magic & trap cards."

"Heh…bad choice," said Ryu.

"Say what?" wondered Tracy.

"You've just destroyed my Kozaky's Self-Destruction Button. When it's destroyed, the one who destroyed this when set face-down is dealt 1000 life point damage," explained Ryu. He also realized that his Scapegoat magic card was destroyed as well, yet he felt like he didn't even need the card.

Tracy was shocked, as his life points decreased to 3,000. "It doesn't matter. I'll summon Sea-Serpent Warrior of Darkness in attack mode. Now I'll have my 7-Colored Fish attack your face-down monster," said Tracy.

"Bad choice…again," answered Ryu.

"What!" wondered Tracy.

"You've just destroyed my Apprentice Magician, allowing me to get another Spellcaster-type monster & put it face-down in defense mode," said Ryu.

"Some good that'll do you. Because now I'll have my Sea-Serpent Warrior of Darkness attack your face-down monster as well, again," said Tracy. "Without your Array of Revealing Light to stop my Sea-Serpent type monsters from attacking, you're through."

"Heh…are you so sure?" asked Ryu.

"What! You bluff," said Tracy, not believing in what he was hearing.

"You've destroyed my Magician of Faith, allowing me to get back Swords of Revealing Light," said Ryu.

"I'll play the field card Umi & end my turn," said Tracy.

"Ore no TAAN…doroo!" yelled Ryu, drawing his next card. "First I'll activate Pot of Greed, drawing 2 cards from my deck. Then I'll play Rapid-Fire Magician in attack mode & then play Swords of Revealing Light & Necklace of Command. Which activates Rapid-Fire Magician's effect. Whenever I play a magic card, you take 400 points of damage. And since Swords of Revealing Light is normal, you take 400 damage."

Rapid-Fire Magician then fired one of its orbs at Tracy, making his life point's drop to 2,600.

"But I'm not done just yet. I'll then play Axe of Despair, raising it's ATK by 1000," said Ryu.

"Oh no," said Tracy in fear.

"This duel's done. Now…I'll have Rapid-Fire Magician attack your life points directly," declared Ryu.

The attack knocked Tracy full blast off his feet & knocked down, as his life points dropped to 0.

The crowd went wild as the duel had finished.

"And there you have it folks. Ryu's proven his worth again. He'll advance to the final round & face-off against 4-time champ, Lazarth Grimstone," declared the announcer.

As Ryu went down from the stage & headed back to the bleachers, he carefully examined his deck, took out his side deck, & replaced 2 of his cards from his deck with some other cards from his side deck. He then re-shuffled his deck, re-inserted the deck back into the duel disk, & waited. 'Heh…that wasn't much of a challenge,' Ryu thought to himself. While he waited he meditated for a few minutes before the final match would start.

What he didn't realized however, was that in the stands, a young girl with light brown hair & brown eyes, wearing a black shirt with a kitty on it & blue jeans was watching him. And little did he know, their paths would soon cross.

When the time came, the hall erupted with loud cheering from the crowd as the final match began. Ryu heaved a deep sigh & thought to himself, 'Well…it's now or never.'

"Welcome back duelist fans. If you're just joining us, we're about to enter the final round of this tournament, where the winner is to receive $50, 000," yelled the announcer. "Newcomer Ryu Tanabi has already beaten Tracy Anderthall who, if you watched last year's tournament beaten by 4-time champ Lazarth Grimstone. Will Tanabi be able to pull off a winner & beat Grimstone. Looks like we're about to find out right now."

As Ryu ascended the steps onto the dueling platform, he could see a young man with black hair, spiked up & brown eyes with an overly confident look on his face.

"Congratulations on making it this far kid. Because I'm the one who's going to end your dueling days right here," he said. "That money is as good as mine."

"Heh…haven't you learned that money isn't everything? Looks like I'm going to have to give you a crash course in humility," said Ryu.

"Already exchanging fighting words & the duel hasn't even started," yelled the announcer.

Decks set & duel disks activated, the final match began.

"I'll start things off by placing one monster in defense mode & two cards face-down & end my turn," said Grimstone. 'Heh…once he attacks, his monster will be sent right back to his hand.'

"All right, my move," said Ryu, drawing a card. As he examined his hand, he thought to himself, 'He's probably trying to bait me by placing a monster that would return my monster back to my hand. Plus…I don't trust those 2 face-down cards.'

"What's wrong? Get a bad hand?" taunted Grimstone.

"That all depends on your definition of a "bad hand"," responded Ryu.

Meanwhile, in the stands, the young girl w/light brown hair & brown eyes watched Ryu intently, as though she found him fascinating.

"First off…I'll start by playing the magic card, Nobleman of Crossout to get rid of your face-down monster, then I'll summon Rapid-Fire Magician in attack mode," said Ryu.

"Why you little…" growled Lazarth.

"And that's not all, if you have any more copies of your removed monster, they're gone as well," explained Ryu.

'Damn the little runt', thought Lazarth as he gritted his teeth & removed his monster & the one from his deck from play.

"Then we shuffle our decks," explained Ryu, as he re-shuffled his deck.

Lazarth seemed pretty ticked from the first turn that Ryu played so far as he re-shuffled his deck.

"Next…I'll play Scapegoat, then Swords of Revealing Light, which activates my Rapid-Fire Magician's effect. Whenever I play a Normal Spell card, my monster deals 400 damage to my opponent's life points," explained Ryu.

Lazarth got hit hard by the blast, as his life points dropped to 3,600.

"But I'm not done just yet. Next I play Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw 2 more cards from my Deck, activating my Rapid-Fire Magician's effect again, dealing another 400 damage to your life points," said Ryu.

Lazarth tried to shield himself from the blast, as his life points dropped to 3,200.

"Then I'll play Nobleman of Extermination. This magic card destroys a trap card & removes it from play. However…if the card is face-down, it has to be flipped face-up, & if it's a trap, it's removed. If it's a magic card, it's sent to the graveyard. Oh…and…Rapid-Fire Magician deals another 400 to your life points since I just played Nobleman of Extermination," said Ryu. " And I choose…the card on the right."

As the card was revealed, Lazarth was in utter shock. 'No! My Trap Hole,' he thought in surprise, & his life points dropped to 2,800.

"And we re-shuffle again."

"Not bad…for an amateur," taunted Lazarth, as he re-shuffled his deck again.

"Then I'll have Rapid-Fire Magician attack your life points," said Ryu.

Lazarth was really starting to get annoyed with him as his life points dropped even further down to 1,400.

"Then I place one card face-down & end my turn," answered Ryu.

"I'll make you pay for that," said Lazarth, drawing a card. "My move. I play Vorse Raider in attack mode & equip Black Pendant to it, raising its attack power to 2,400."

'Like that's going to make a difference,' thought Ryu.

"Now…I play Lightning Vortex & discard my second Vorse Raider from my hands to destroy all your monsters. You're completely helpless," said Lazarth.

"Heh…are you so certain?" asked Ryu, tauntingly

"You don't have a monster on your field. You're defenseless," said Lazarth. "Now I'll have my Vorse Raider attack your life points directly."

"Guess again, reveal trap card, Draining Shield," yelled Ryu. "This trap card blocks your monster's attack & I gain life points from the ATK points of the monster. In this case…2,400."

"Grr…why that little runt," muttered Lazarth between his teeth.

As Ryu's life points went up, the young girl watching in the stands thought, 'He's really clever.'

"I'll end my turn," said Lazarth.

"Time for me to turn the tables," said Ryu, drawing a card. "I place one monster in defense mode & end my turn."

"You're going down for sure this time," he said, drawing a card. "I play Monster Reborn to get back my second Vorse Raider & then play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your Swords of Revealing Light. Next, I'll have the first one attack your monster."

"You've just destroyed my Apprentice Magician, allowing me to get another level 2 spellcaster from my deck & place it in face-down defense position," said Ryu, getting a monster from his deck & placing it on the field.

"Then I'll have my second attack your face-down monster," said Lazarth.

"You've just destroyed my Magician of Faith, allowing me to get back my Swords of Revealing Light," said Ryu.

"I end my turn," said Lazarth.

"My turn," said Ryu, drawing a card. "I'll first play Swords of Revealing Light & then place one monster in defense mode & end my turn."

"I draw…& end my turn," said Lazarth.

'One turn down,' thought Ryu. "My move," said Ryu, drawing a card. "I play Sonic Bird in attack mode. This allows me to get a ritual magic card from my Deck. Then I have to re-shuffle. And I choose…Doriado's Blessing." He then re-shuffled his deck. "I end my turn."

"I draw…and end my turn," said Lazarth.

'He must be waiting for my Swords to wear off,' thought Ryu.

"Here we go. My draw," said Ryu, drawing a card. "I place another in defense mode & end my turn."

"I play Dream Clown in attack mode & end my turn," said Lazarth. "Your Swords is gone."

"All right. I draw," said Ryu, drawing a card from his deck. "I flip Mask of Darkness to get back Dimension Wall, then sacrifice it to place another monster in defense mode & end my turn."

"I draw…then have my second Vorse Raider attack your monster on the middle-right," declared Lazarth.

"You've just destroyed my Hade-Hane…allowing me to return 3 monsters on your side of the field to your hand," said Ryu. "And since you only have 3, I return all 3 to your hand."

"Since Black Pendant was destroyed, you lose 500 life points," said Lazarth.

'Oh great,' thought Ryu, as his life points dropped to 3,500.

"Then I play Curse of the Masked Beast & sacrifice my 2 Vorse Raiders to summon The Masked Beast in attack mode & end my turn," said Lazarth.

'It's now or never,' thought Ryu. "Here goes nothing. My move," said Ryu, drawing a card. He suddenly had a slight smirk on his face.

"What you smiling about?" wondered Lazarth.

"You're about to find out. I play the ritual magic card, Doriado's Blessing, by sacrificing my Sonic Bird, in order to summon Elemental Mistress Doriado in attack mode," said Ryu.

A young woman wearing a hat with red on top, green with thin gold lines in the middle, a star shape in the middle of the green w/gold lines section & a jewel in the middle of the star & a light blue robe with dark blue & gold colorings on the shoulder pads of the robe appeared on the field.

"She has only 1,200 attack power, how is that going to help you?" asked Lazarth tauntingly.

"That may be true, but once I equip Ritual Weapon to it, it raises her attack power to 2,700. Then I flip my face-down monster Des Wombat in attack mode, & place one card face-down & end my turn," said Ryu.

"You're going down. My move," said Lazarth, drawing a card.

"Reveal face-down card…Fuh-Rin-Ka-Zan!" yelled Ryu.

"Say what!" wondered Lazarth.

"This trap card can only activate if I only have 1 of ea. Earth, Wind, Fire, & Water type monsters on my field," said Ryu.

Lazarth surveyed the field of his opponent. "You have none," he said.

"Haven't you learned that looks can be deciving?" asked Ryu.

"What?" wondered Lazarth, confused.

"Perhaps you need to research more on Ritual Monster effects. You see…my Elemental Mistress may not look much, but…in fact…she has a total of 5 attributes," explained Ryu.

"How?" asked Lazarth.

"Because…her attribute is not only Light, but she represents the elements of Earth, Fire, Wind, & Water as well, allowing me to activate my trap," explained Ryu. "I can choose from one of four effects: a.) Destroy all monsters on your opponent's side of the field, b.) destroy your opponent's magic & trap cards on their side of the field, c.) discard 2 cards randomly from your hand to the graveyard, or d.) draw 2 cards from my deck. And I go with choice A. Now…I'll use the effect to destroy your only monster, The Masked Beast!"

'NO!' thought Lazarth in fear. "I place one card face-down & end my turn."

"This duel is over," said Ryu, drawing a card. "Now I'll have Doriado finish off what's left of your life points!"

The attack knocked Lazarth off his feet & onto the floor, as his life points went down to 0.

Just then, a judge that surveyed the final duel raised Ryu's right arm up. "The winner of this year's dueling tournament is newcomer Ryu Tanabi," he said.

The whole hall erupted into cheers as the duel came to a close.

"What an amazing play by newcomer Ryu Tanabi. Even with Grimstone's arsenal of strong monsters, he still manages to pull a winner," yelled the announcer.

After Ryu received a check for the $50,000 prize, he then grabbed his jacket from the chair which he sat on for the final match, then headed out of the dueling hall & headed for home. Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew, knocking out the envelope from his pocket on his left jacket.

'Jeez…it's getting rather chilly out here,' thought Ryu.

"Hey…you dropped this," said a voice. It was a young girl's voice.

He turned around & saw a young girl about 10 years old, wearing a black shirt with a kitty on it & blue jeans, & had light brown hair & brown eyes. Ryu walked over to her & she handed him back his envelope.

"Nice duel back there. You really took the show," she said, smiling.

Ryu couldn't help but smile warmly back for her compliment. "Thank you. It was really all to a certain someone that believed in the 'Heart of the Cards'," answered Ryu.

"I'm sure that person really put his time & heart into creating his deck," she answered. The young girl checked her watch again & realized she was going to be late for dinner at home. "I've gotta go. Nice talking to ya."

"Likewise," answered Ryu, as he headed off towards his apartment several blocks down.

Yet as he turned past a corner that lead to his nearby apartment, he spotted something at an alley. There was a hint of black showing from the trash bin near him. When he opened it, he was quite surprised to see what he found among the garbage. A black duel monsters card carrying case. What was even more shocking to him was when he opened it & saw the bottom card, he just almost froze. It was Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning.

"I know this deck. This belonged to Andros. But why would he toss his deck away?" wondered Ryu. He then noticed that the card had a tear on the top right corner, which was messed up, but the others were not.

'Looks like I'm going to have to get another one,' he thought.

When he got to his apartment, the first thing he noticed was a pile of mail keeping his mailbox ajar. As soon as he checked his mail, he was suddenly surprised to see an envelope addressed to him. As he opened the envelope, he was surprised as to what it contained inside. His test results from Duel Academy.

"8800 points. This is not bad at all," Ryu said to himself. As he read further, he then noticed that he was to come over to the dueling site for his test exam, which started sometime soon. It read that they would let him know when the test began.

'So…my dueling skills are going to be put to the test at that Academy. If I manage to past my test first,' thought Ryu to himself.

Phew. That was hard to write. This story is just a one-shot. I'm going to have to re-edit parts of some of my other chapters before I continue. But…like I said…I'm going to make it a Jaden/Alexis fanfic. However…I'm just saying that because I'm going to be using the Japanese names. (NOTE: I'm going to mention the reason of their departure (ones noted in opening) in the 2nd chapter). Also…for those of you that watch the rest of the 1st season later…DON'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU!

Anyway…the next chapter is called _Test Time, New Arrivals & a Familiar Face._

R/R onegai!


	2. Chpt I

**Odd Occurrences & A Past Visit: Revenge & Justice**

_**Character List:**_

_**Yuki Judai – Yuki Jaden**_

_**Tenjoin Asuka – Alexis Rhodes**_

_**Tenjoin Fubuki – Atticus Rhodes**_

_**Manjyoume Jun – Chazz Princeton**_

_**Marufuji Sho – Syrus Trusdale**_

_**Marufuji Ryo – Zane Trusdale**_

_**Maeda Hayato – Chumley Huffington**_

_**Misawa Daichi – Bastian Misawa**_

_**Chronos de Medici – Dr. Vellian Crowler**_

_**Daitokuji – Dr. Banner**_

_**Sameshima – Chancellor Shepard**_

_**Tyranno Kenzan**_

_**OC Characters:**_

_**Ryu Tanabi (Spiral Dragon) – 17**_

_**Tobias Gramfield – 15**_

**_Andros Landers – 16_**

**_Baxter Hammingson (Real name: Lazarth Grimstone) – 24_**

_**Relena Darson – 17**_

**_Cornelia Darson – 19_**

**_Taylor Anderson – 14_**

**_Hotaru – 36 (appears in 2nd chapter)_**

_Enjoy._

_Chapter 1: Test Time, New Arrivals & A Familiar Face_

As Ryu ran towards the testing site for the new applicants, he checked his watch at the same time, while making sure he didn't forget anything else to add to his deck.

'I hope I'm not too late for my dueling test. Otherwise, all my effort would've been for naught. Of course, I didn't do that well on the exam for that matter,' he thought.

As he neared the testing site & ascended up, he suddenly noticed something familiar about the dueling dome.

"This looks almost similar to the Blue-Eyes dueling dome at Kaibaland," he said to himself. 'Of course…I was just watching from the crowd in another vicinity of Tokyo.'

As soon as he entered, he was quite surprised at the huge amount of applicants that were being tested. He decided to take a seat in the end of the middle row & watched one guy with yellow hair & green eyes. He seemed to also be in his middle teen years.

"All right new guy. I place one monster in defense mode & 3 cards face down. Your move," answered the proctor.

"All right. Here goes," he said, drawing a card. "I place one monster in defense mode & 2 cards face down. I end my turn."

"I draw," said the proctor. "I sacrifice my face-down monster, Sangan, in order to summon the Earl of Demise. And thanks to Sangan's special effect, I get to choose a monster from my Deck. And I choose…Masaki the Legendary Swordsman. Now…I'll have my Earl of Demise attack your face-down monster."

"You've just dealt more damage to your life points already," said Tobias.

"Say what!" wondered the proctor.

"You've just attacked my Princess of Tsurugi. When flipped face-up, it can deal 500 damage to my opponent for every magic & trap card they have on the field," explained Tobias.

"Oh no," said the proctor. "My life points."

"Has dropped to 2, 500," said Tobias.

As Ryu watched from his seat, he thought to himself 'This guy can be full of surprises.'

"I'll end my turn," replied the proctor.

"Good. Because you're about to be done in one more turn," said Tobias. "My move. I'll play Fox Fire in attack mode & end my turn."

"That's the best you can put up? You're more of a fool than I thought," taunted the proctor.

"We'll see who has the last laugh after this. You're move," said Tobias.

"I draw. Now…I'll have my Earl of Demise attack your little fox," said the proctor.

"Wrong. Activate Magic Cylinder to re-direct your attack," said Tobias.

"You fool. Activate Seven Tools of the Bandit, sacrificing a thousand of my life points to destroy your trap card," answered the proctor.

"This duel's done," said Tobias.

"What?" the proctor wondered.

As Tobias' monster was destroyed, Tobias activated his 2nd trap card. "Reveal face-down card, Dimension Wall," he declared.

"What is that!" wondered the proctor.

"Think of it like Magic Cylinder, except that it does battle damage instead of re-directing the attack back to my opponent's life points. Your monster has 2,000 ATK points, while mine only has 300. You currently have 1,500 life points remaining. I use this trap card to re-direct the battle damage back to your life points, ending the duel," explained Tobias. With that, the proctor's life points dropped down to 0, while Tobias' life points were untouched.

"Congratulations, applicant. Welcome to Duelist Academy," said the proctor.

"Thank you for the lesson & the duel," replied Tobias.

"Wow…this guy's pretty good," said one student.

"Yeah right, that was pure luck," said another.

As Ryu observed from the stands, he thought to himself, 'No…that was pure skill, with a bit of luck.'

Meanwhile, Judai looked from the observatory stand on the 2nd floor with surprise & amazement.

Judai gave an impressed whistle. "That guy really knew what he was doing."

"Yeah, no kidding. I heard this guy was close to getting into Obelisk Blue. According to what he received on his exam, he was close to 900 points," said Sho, standing right beside him.

Meanwhile, in another part of the observatory stand on the 3rd floor, Asuka & her friends noticed a young girl also being tested. She had light brown hair & brown eyes & looked very determined to pass her test by the dueling stance she was in.

"She looks pretty determined," said Momoe, one of Asuka's roommates.

"I'll say," said Junko, another one of Asuka's roommates.

"Humph…I wouldn't be so sure," said a voice.

The 3 girls turned around & noticed a young girl that looked older than the one that was dueling. She had black hair & green eyes.

"What makes you so sure, Cornelia?" asked Asuka.

"Because…she's my younger sister," replied Cornelia.

The 3 girls were shocked & surprised at her response, Asuka, most of all.

"Y-you never told us that you had a sister," said Asuka in surprise.

"Well the cat's out of the bag now. Relena was a bit slow when learning Duel Monsters. I didn't have time to teach her the rest. I'd be the least surprised if she made it to Obelisk Blue," answered Cornelia.

Asuka recognized that kind of behavior. 'She acts just like Sho's older brother. Yet…it's been a while since we've heard from him,' thought Asuka.

Once the duel started, it was Relena's turn.

"Watashi no TAAN, doroo," declared Relena, drawing a card. "I play Gemini Elf in attack mode & equip it with Book of the Secret Arts, raising its ATK power to 2,200. Then I play the field magic card, Array of Revealing Light. When activated, I can declare 1 Monster Type to not attack. And once I declare it, you can summon it, but you can't attack if the Monster Type is the one I declared. And I declare…Fiend-Type. Next I play Swords of Revealing Light, to stop your attack for 3 turns, & place 1 card face down. TAAN endo da."

"Not a bad start," said Asuka, looking from the observatory.

"Humph…I've seen those cards before. She's using the same deck ever since she was little," said Cornelia.

"I wouldn't be so sure. Sometimes, they modify the deck they had once before & it's usually not the same," said Asuka.

"All right. My move," said the proctor, drawing a card. "I place 2 cards face-down & one monster in defense mode & end my turn."

"Here we go," said Relena, drawing another card. "I play Swarm of Scarabs in attack mode, then flip it face-down. And with that I end my turn," said Relena.

"My turn," said the proctor, drawing a card. "I activate Mystical Space Typhoon on your Array of Revealing Light."

As Ryu watched from the stands, he thought to himself, 'That's not good. Unless…she's baiting him.'

"Now I can summon this monster. I sacrifice my face-down monster, Dragon-Zombie in order to play Summoned Skull in attack mode. Now…I'll have my Summoned Skull attack your Gemini Elf," answered the proctor.

"Wrong. Reveal face-down card, Negate Attack. This trap card nullifies your monster's attack & ends your Battle Phase," said Relena.

"That's where "you" are wrong. Reveal Solemn Judgment. By sacrificing half my life points, I can automatically stop 1 magic or trap card, leaving my Summoned Skull free to attack," said the proctor, as he laughed.

As Relena received the blast full force, her life points dropped to 2,700, while the proctor's dropped to 2,000.

As Ryu continued watching from the stands, Cornelia, up on the observatory on the 3rd floor seemed to be not too surprised by her younger sister's tactics. 'She could be doing that on purpose, or that she wasn't paying attention,' she thought.

"And with that I end my turn," said the proctor.

"Watashi no TAAN, doroo," said Relena, drawing a card. Suddenly, Ryu noticed a slight smile on her face.

"That's a switch," said Ryu.

"Did you see her expression? She smiled," said Momoe.

"Must have something big planned," said Asuka.

"Heh…we'll see," said Cornelia, still doubting her younger sister's skills.

"I flip Swarm of Scarabs into attack mode, activating its effect. When flipped face-up, I can return one monster on your side of the field, back to your hand," said Relena.

"Oh no," said the proctor in surprise & fear.

"Soshite, SCARABE no Daigun wo ikenie ni. Black Magican Girl shoukan," said Relena.

'That's just the tip of the iceberg. There are only 2 things left to do,' thought Ryu as he watched intently.

"Then I activate Sage's Stone," continued Relena. "Once Dark Magician Girl is on the field I can Special Summon Dark Magician from my hand or Deck."

'This is getting good,' thought Ryu.

Once Dark Magician Girl was on the field & Sage's Stone activated, a bright light appeared from Relena's deck & Dark Magician soon joined up w/Dark Magician Girl.

"Now I reveal my face-down magic card, Dark Magic Attack. When Dark Magican is on the field, I can destroy all magic & trap cards on my opponent's side of the field," explained Relena.

"Aww…rats," said the proctor.

"That should show that you shouldn't get too overconfident w/yourself," said Ryu, as he continued watching the duel.

"Now…Black Magician Girl, attack the opponent's life points directly & end this duel," said Relena.

A huge explosion was heard & the proctor's life points dropped to 0.

Ryu gave an impressed whistle & said, "Man…the girl's got some skills."

"I'll say," said a voice from behind him.

Once Ryu turned around, he noticed the one standing behind him was the duelist with yellow hair & green eyes that he was watching some time ago.

"And…who might you be?" wondered Ryu.

"Name's Tobias Gramfield. What's yours?" he asked cheerfully.

"Ryu Tanabi. Haven't dueled yet, so I'm still waiting," said Ryu. "Nice dueling you did back there."

"Thanks," said Tobias. "Did you see the way that girl beat down the proctor?"

"Yeah. She seemed to be toying with him at first, but it occurred to me that she was actually baiting him. Comes to show that you shouldn't always get too cocky when dueling," said Ryu.

"Point taken," said Tobias. "I heard the girl got 9,700 points on her exam."

"Must study a lot & done some research on the card basics as she dueled," said Ryu.

"You think that's possible?" wondered Tobias.

"Of course. Otherwise you wouldn't have done well on the exam," said Ryu.

"Yeah. I see what you mean. I did pretty well on my exam. Around average I would say," said Tobias.

"No kidding. Same here. We'd probably be put in the middle class if it's average," said Ryu.

"Possibly," said Tobias.

A few seconds later, the P.A. blared out, "Ryu Tanabi, duelist no. 71940, please report to duel arena # 11. Repeat, Ryu Tanabi, pleas report to duel arena # 11."

Ryu gave a deep sigh & thought to himself, 'This is it. Game time.'

As he headed down to the assigned duel arena, Tobias yelled out to him, "Good luck!"

He did a quick turn back & said, "I appreciate it." Then he continued his way to the assigned dueling arena. Once inside, he spotted a man who appeared to be in his mid to late 40's.

"I suppose you'll be my dueling proctor," said Ryu.

"State your name, applicant," said the proctor.

"Ryu Tanabi, sir," he answered.

"Well Mr. Tanabi, my name's Tsuki Akari. I've had some experience with dueling myself. So I suggest you don't take me lightly, due to my age," said the proctor.

"Don't worry. I don't intend to," said Ryu.

With that said, the duel began.

"I'll make the first move," said Ryu, drawing a card. "I play Insect Knight in attack mode & then I place 2 cards face-down & end my turn."

"I draw," said Tsuki, drawing a card. "I place one monster in defense mode, & 1 card face-down. I end my turn."

"Watashi no TAAN, DOROO!" shouted Ryu, drawing a card. "Gouyoku Natsubo hatsudou! KAADO ni mai doroo. Then I play Nobleman of Extermination on your face-down card."

"TORAPPU KAADO hatsudou! Mahou Jamma. I discard Roc from the Valley of Haze to disable your Magic card. And due to Roc from the Valley of Haze's effect, when discarded from my hand to the graveyard, I can re-add it to my deck & re-shuffle it," explained Tsuki, now re-shuffling his deck.

'That takes care of his only trap. But I'm not out of the woods yet,' thought Ryu.

"Now I'll have Insect Knight attack your face-down monster," said Ryu.

"You've just destroyed Cyber Jar. When flipped & destroyed, it destroys all monsters on the field," said Tsuki. A huge machine-like jar appeared on the field, exploded & destroyed Ryu's Insect Knight.

"So then we draw 5 cards & show them to our opponent," realized Ryu, drawing 5 cards & showed them to his opponent. Tsuki did the same. They both then showed to their opponent what they drew. In Ryu's hand was: Sangan, Witch of the Black Forest, Polymerization, Magician of Faith, & Necklace of Command. In Tsuki's hand were: Berserk Gorilla, Black Pendant, Curse of the Masked Beast, Grand Tiki Elder, & The Masked Beast.

Tsuki played Berserk Gorilla in attack mode, & Grand Tiki Elder face-down in defense mode. Ryu played Sangan & Witch of the Black Forest in attack mode & Magician of Faith face-down in defense mode.

"I move on to my second main phase. Mahou kaado, yuukou hatsudou! Fusing Witch of the Black Forest & Sangan to form Sanwitch in attack mode! Then from their effects I choose Des Wombat from Witch of the Black Forest's effect & Mask of Darkness from Sangan's effect & -re-shuffle my deck," said Ryu, shuffling his deck twice. "Then I play Axe of Despair to raise Sanwitch's ATK by 1000 points. Next I summon Des Wombat in attack mode, equip it with Necklace of Command & place 1 card face down & end my turn."

"Ore no TAAN da, DOROO!" shouted Tsuki as he drew his next card.

'Knowing him, he'll probably play that ritual magic card to call out his monster. Yet I've got this all figured out,' thought Ryu to himself.

"I play Nobleman of Extermination on the middle-left face-down card," said Tsuki.

"Guess again. Reveal face-down card, Fake Trap!" declared Ryu.

"What?" Tsuki wondered.

"That's right, Fake Trap. Whenever my opponent tries to destroy one of my traps from a monster's effect, magic, or trap effect, I can use this as a substitute to save one of my other traps from being destroyed. You've just wasted your magic card," said Ryu.

'Nice move,' thought Tobias, as he watched from the stands.

"Not bad newcomer…I play the ritual magic card Curse of the Masked Beast, by sacrificing Grand Tiki Elder & Berserk Gorilla to play The Masked Beast in attack mode," said Tsuki. "This is the end for you, Ryu."

Suddenly, a creature resembling that somewhat of a centaur with a weird head & what appeared to be a dragon's tail holding a staff appeared.

Ryu seemed relaxed when it appeared, stared at him & just scoffed, saying to him in a determined tone, "Heh…I don't think so."

Sho observed from the 3rd floor & was quite surprised at the new applicant's determination. "Look at him. He's acting as though he isn't afraid of that monster at all."

"That's probably the main reason why he's so calm," said a voice behind him.

"Hey Misawa, what brings you here?" asked Judai.

"Oh not much. Just coming to see if the rumors about this kid are true," explained Misawa.

"What rumors?" wondered Judai.

"According to one source, the one that's dueling already beat a 4-time champ in a tournament several blocks down here, 7 years ago, " explained Misawa.

"Wow…either that was luck or this guy's really good," said Sho in amazement.

"We're about to find out," said Misawa.

"Then I equip it with Black Pendant, raising its ATK by 500," said Tsuki. The monster's ATK points were now at 3,700, while Ryu's monster was at 3,100. "Now…attack Ryu's Sanwitch!"

"Reveal face-down card, Shift. Whenever my opponent declares an attack or tries to destroy one of my monsters, I can transfer the attack or effect to a different target. And I choose…my face-down monster," explained Ryu. "Magician of Faith."

"Very clever," said Tsuki, impressed.

"And from its effect, I get to choose a Magic card & add it back to my hand. And I choose…my Pot of Greed," said Ryu, after seeing his Magician of Faith destroyed, & gets back his Pot of Greed magic card.

"I place 2 cards face-down & end my turn," said Tsuki.

"Watashi no TAAN, doroo!" shouted Ryu, drawing a card.

"Trap activate, Mind Crush," said Tsuki. "When this activates, I declare 1 card name. If you have that card in your hand, you have to discard the cards of the same name to the graveyard."

"And if I don't you have to discard a card from your hand," said Ryu. "Take a wild guess at what's in my hand."

"Trap Hole," said Tsuki.

"Nope. None," said Ryu.

'Man…I wasted it for nothing,' thought Tsuki to himself, as he discarded one card from his hand to the graveyard.

"Mahou kaddo, Gouyoku Natsubo hatsudou! KAADO ni mai doroo. I play Fox Fire in attack mode. Then…I remove Sangan & Magician of Faith from my Graveyard from play in order to Special Summon Chaos Sorcerer in attack mode!" declared Ryu.

A fox with a flame at the end of its tail w/300 ATK points, appeared on the field, & then a monster with black armor & clothing, that looked "Dark Magician" like, with light emitting from one hand & dark on the other w/2,300 ATK points appeared.

"Chaos Sorcerer effect, activate. By discarding one card from my hand, I can remove 1 face-up monster from the game. Yet it can't attack the turn after the effect activates. So I discard Soitsu from my hand to remove your Masked Beast from the game," explained Ryu.

"But you also take 500 damage from Black Pendant's effect as well," said Tsuki.

Ryu – 7,500, Tsuki– 8,000

"Now…Sanwitch, Fox Fire, & Des Wombat…attack his life points directly," said Ryu.

"Activate Just Desserts. This trap card deals 500 damage for ea. monster on your side of the field," said Tsuki, just as he got attacked from Ryu's monsters.

"Aghh," yelled Ryu, as his life points dropped.

Ryu -5,500, Tsuki – 3,000.

"TAAN endo," said Ryu.

"Ore no TAAN da, dooro!" yelled Tsuki, drawing a card. "I play Pot of Greed, drawing 2 cards from my deck, & then play Swords of Revealing Light, stopping your monsters for 3 turns. Then I place one monster in defense mode & end my turn."

"Watashi no TAAN, dooro," said Ryu, drawing his next card. "I place one card face-down & end my turn."

"My move," said Tsuki, drawing a card. "I play Melchid the Four Faced Beast in attack mode & have it attack your Fox Fire."

"Heh…I knew you would," said Ryu, as his monster was destroyed.

"What?" wondered Tsuki.

"Reveal face-down card, Dimension Wall. When a monster is destroyed on my side of the field, I can activate this & re-direct the battle damage that would have originally have been mine, right back to you," explained Ryu.

"Oh great," said Tsuki, as his life points dropped to 2,700.

"And that's not all. When Fox Fire's destroyed & sent to the graveyard, on my turn I get to Special Summon him again from my graveyard in attack mode when it's my turn," explained Ryu.

'Not bad,' thought Tobias as he continued watching from the stands.

"This guy seems to know what he's doing," said Judai, watching from the 3rd floor observatory.

"I'll end my turn," said Tsuki.

"My move," said Ryu, drawing a card. "And thanks to Fox Fire's effect, I get it back in attack mode. I place one monster in defense mode & end my turn."

"You're through kid," said Tsuki, drawing a card. "I play Monster Reborn to return Berserk Gorilla on my side of the field. Now I'll have Melchid attack your Fox & my Gorilla attack your face-down monster."

Ryu – 2,700, Tsuki – 200

"You've just destroyed my Mask of Darkness, allowing me to get back Dimension Wall," said Ryu.

"Big deal," answered Tsuki, not looking all that scared.

"Oh…it's a big deal all right," said Ryu.

"I end my turn," answered Tsuki.

"Watashi no TAAN dooro!" yelled Ryu, drawing a card. "And thanks to my Fox's effect, he comes back on my side of the field." He had a slight smile on his face.

"What you smiling for?" wondered Tsuki.

"I sacrifice my Insect Knight in order to place one monster in defense mode & one card face-down & end my turn," said Ryu.

"You're through. My turn," said Tsuki, drawing a card. "I play the magic card Creature Swap, switching your Sanwitch with my Berserk Gorilla. Now I'll have Melchid attack your face-down monster."

"Big mistake," answered Ryu.

"What!" asked Tsuki astonished.

"You've destroyed Hade-Hane. This guy when flipped & destroyed, allows me to return 3 of your monsters back to your hand. And that means my fusion monster goes back to my hand, & your Melchid goes back to yours," explained Ryu.

'Oh no,' thought Tsuki. "I'll end my turn."

"This duel is over," said Ryu, drawing a card. "Now I'll have Fox Fire attack your life points, ending this duel."

"Arghhh…rats," said Tsuki, disappointed as his life points dropped to 0.

Final standing: Ryu – 2,700 LP & Tsuki – 0 LP.

"And that's game," said Ryu.

"Congratulations, applicant. Welcome to the Academy," said Tsuki.

"Thank you. Not bad, Tsuki…not bad at all," said Ryu.

"I kinda had you going back there," said Tsuki.

"Yeah…you kinda did," answered Ryu.

"You've got skills, kid. I'll give you that," replied Tsuki. And with that, they both left the dueling arena.

"Wow…some duel that was, eh Misawa?" asked Judai.

"Yes. The rumors proved true after all," said Misawa.

As Ryu headed to the registration room, Tobias spotted him & ran up to meet with him.

"Hey…that was an awesome duel Ryu," said Tobias.

"Thank you, Tobias. What dorm do you think you'd belong to?" Ryu asked.

"Well…considering the grade I received on the exam & how well I did on my duel…I'd say middle class," answered Tobias.

"Well…considering the circumstances I was in…I'd probably say the same," replied Ryu.

When they both arrived at the registration desk, it turns out that they were both right. They both received yellow blazers.

"Cool man. We're in the same class," said Tobias.

"So it seems," said Ryu. "But I wouldn't take it too lightly."

"Why not?" wondered Tobias.

"Think of it as another type of school, except it's about Duel Monsters," said Ryu. "There are times when someone might intentionally bump into you & challenge you to a duel just to bother you. So…here's a piece of advice. Watch your back…always."

"Ok, ok, Ryu. I get your point," said Tobias.

As they both headed towards the path that would lead them to the helicopter that would take them to Duel Academia, Ryu then spotted a young girl passing by with light brown hair & brown eyes, carrying a blue blazer.

Suddenly Ryu froze in his tracks, completely taken by surprise as his mind flashed back to 7 years ago.

_Flashback:_

"_Hey…you dropped this," said a voice. It was a young girl's voice._

_He turned around & saw a young girl about 10 years old, wearing a black shirt with a kitty on it & blue jeans, & had light brown hair & brown eyes. Ryu walked over to her & she handed him back his envelope._

"_Nice duel back there. You really took the show," she said, smiling._

_Ryu couldn't help but smile warmly back for her compliment. "Thank you. It was really all to a certain someone that believed in the 'Heart of the Cards'," answered Ryu._

"_I'm sure that person really put his time & heart into creating his deck," she answered. The young girl checked her watch again & realized she was going to be late for dinner at home. "I've gotta go. Nice talking to ya."_

_End flashback._

The girl noticed Ryu looking at her & slightly turned red.

Ryu couldn't help but give her a slight wave. The girl just simply smiled at him & continued towards the helicopter.

'Why does she looks so familiar?' wondered Ryu.

Tobias noticed what was going on & asked Ryu, "Were you checking her out?"

Startled slightly, Ryu turned to him & said, "No. Why would I?"

"You think she's cute don't ya?" teased Tobias.

"Yyyyeaahhh…I guess…a bit," said Ryu, trying to hide his embarrassment.

"Come on…admit it…she's cute, isn't she?" said Tobias, again with the teasing.

"Um…are you going to keep bothering me like that all day or are you going to get your silly butt over here because the helicopter leaves in a minute!" shouted Ryu as he was already near the helicopter.

"H-hey…wait up Ryu!" said Tobias, as he hurried over to where Ryu was.

As soon as they boarded the helicopter, they tried to find some good seats before the helicopter took off. Tobias decided to get the window seat, while Ryu sat on the other end of the seat, near the middle aisle. When everyone was accounted for, the helicopter took off & headed towards Duel Academia. Tobias fell asleep after some time while the helicopter made its way to the Academy.

Meanwhile, a hooded figure watched from behind the dome where the dueling tests took place. He gave a slight evil chuckle as he watched the helicopter head for Duel Academia.

"Hehehehe…enjoy it while you can Ryu. Because the next time we meet…I'll make sure you lose for sure," he said & then disappeared.

Preview of next chapter:

As Ryu & Tobias start in Ra Yellow at Duel Academia, then meet some new friends as well as getting to know other students. The new girl, Relena, who is in Obelisk Blue, later starts to cross paths with Ryu when they meet again. However, all that changes when a cloaked figure appears on Duel Academia Grounds & Ryu sense a familiar presence from this stranger. Who is he? Why is he obsessed with Ryu? And just who is the "Demon Gang"?

Next chapter: A New Beginning & New Surprises.

List of Japanese terms used:

Watashi no TAAN – It's my turn

Ore no TAAN – (same as above, yet in a more arrogant form)

TAAN endo – End turn

Ikenie ni – sacrifice

Shoukan – summon

Mahou – magic

Sokkou – quick-play

Hatsudou – activate

Ni – two

Mai – stands for the amt. of something

Yuukou - fuse

Soshite – Then

SCARABE no Daigun – Japanese version of Swarm of Scarabs (Not sure if the spelling of the 1st word is right).

NOTE: Don't speak Japanese lang. fluently. Only know some words/phrases/short sentences.

R/r onegai.


	3. Chpt II

**Odd Occurrences & A Past Visit:**

_**Character List:**_

_**Yuki Judai – Yuki Jaden**_

_**Tenjoin Asuka – Alexis Rhodes**_

_**Manjyoume Jun – Chazz Princeton**_

_**Marufuji Sho – Syrus Trusdale**_

_**Marufuji Ryo – Zane Trusdale**_

_**Maeda Hayato – Chumley Huffington**_

_**Misawa Daichi – Bastian Misawa**_

_**Chronos de Medici – Dr. Vellian Crowler**_

_**Daitokuji – Dr. Banner**_

_**Sameshima – Chancellor Shepard**_

_**Tyranno Kenzan**_

_**OC Characters:**_

_**Ryu Tanabi (Spiral Dragon) – 17**_

_**Tobias Gramfield – 15**_

_**Andros Landers – 16**_

_**Baxter Hammingson (Real name: Lazarth Grimstone) – 24**_

_**Relena Darson – 17**_

_**Cornelia Darson – 19**_

_**Taylor Anderson - 14**_

**_Hotaru Akari – 36_**

_Chapter 2: A New Beginning & New Surprises_

As the helicopter continued on its way to Duel Academia, Ryu noticed that Tobias was still asleep. He then took out his deck & did a quick examination, to make sure that nothing was missing. The only thing that would make Ryu stand out was that he didn't actually have 1 deck, but 2. He then looked over on the last card which was at the top, Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning.

'This was Andros' signature card,' thought Ryu. 'I haven't heard from him since. I wonder how he's doing.'

Just then, a few seconds later, a slight turbulence occurred, causing the helicopter to shake suddenly & for Ryu's deck to fly out of his hands.

'Not good,' thought Ryu, as he felt the helicopter go back to normal. He looked over his shoulder & noticed that Tobias was still asleep. 'I'm surprised he's able to still sleep & not feel that.'

As he quickly scrambled to get back all his cards, he suddenly heard a slight chuckle from someone next to him. As soon as he managed to get his cards & looked them over, he realized one card was missing.

'Oh no…not Andros' signature card,' thought Ryu, as he quickly put back the rest of his cards in his deck carrying case & almost frantically searched for the last card.

The one sitting near to where Ryu was standing couldn't help but stifle a chuckle.

"Excuse me…you dropped this," said a voice. It was a female.

Ryu looked over to his right & saw that it was the same girl he saw before, the one with light brown hair & brown eyes.

"I couldn't help but notice that you were worried that you lost it," she said, handing him back the card.

"Yeah…thanks," said Ryu. He couldn't help but stare at her, as though if they've met some years before. "Haven't I seen you before?"

The girl was silent for a few moments, and then gave a slight gasp of surprise when the answer finally dawned on her. "Aren't you the one who won that tournament 7 years ago?"

"Yeah…I'm the guy," said Ryu, surprised that she remembers something that was way back. "Name's Ryu Tanabi."

"Mine's Relena Darson," she answered.

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance," replied Ryu, taking her hand & kissing it, causing her to slightly blush.

"That card must've been important," said Relena.

Ryu was silent for a few moments, and then said, "Yes…it once belonged to a very old friend of mine. I haven't heard from him since."

"Oh…I see," answered Relena. "Haven't you tried to talk to his parents?"

"He doesn't remember who his parents were," said Ryu.

"Oh…that's so sad," said Relena, feeling that sense of pain.

"He has foster parents luckily, yet…2 weeks after the tournament, there have been rumors about 2 rival gangs in Domino that keep either recruiting or taking kids by surprise, forcing them to duel, or beat the heck out of them, just to get their rare cards & make money off of them. Yet if there are ones that they really like, they keep it & add it to their decks," explained Ryu. "They're kinda like the Rare Hunters that walked around during the Battle City tournaments. One of them was known as the Demon Gang that uses a bunch of powerful Fiend & Zombie type monsters & the other was the Dragon Warrior Fighters, which uses a bunch of Warrior & Dragon type monsters. "

"Where did you get this information?" she asked curiously.

Ryu then went into his bag & pulled out a Dueling magazine & went to the page that discussed that particular topic.

"What's even more surprising is that sometime later someone else joined in one of the gangs temporarily, but then slipped off & leaked information on both gangs to the authorities. Most members from both sides managed to disband, except for a few, including the gang leaders from both sides. Turns out they're in their late-teens, & were both charged of selling drugs & attempted murder. Both were sentenced to 20 years in prison & their decks...turns out that they were even linked to armed robbery of several game stores. Crazy isn't it?" asked Ryu.

"Well…that's what drugs & other stuff will do to ya, make you destroy your intellect," answered Relena.

"So…when did you start getting into Duel Monsters?" asked Ryu.

"I started when I was ten. That is…once I started practicing against my sister," answered Relena.

Ryu's eyes went wide when he heard this. "I didn't know you had a sister."

"She's like the second best compared to one of the other girls at the school. She's in Obelisk Blue," explained Relena.

"I see. Anyway…on top of that…it seems that one of the members matched the description of the one I defeated 7 years ago. He was caught, yet since he didn't participate as much compared to some of the other members & was the one that leaked out information, he was given a lighter sentence, probation," explained Ryu.

"I just hope he's learned his lesson," said Relena.

"I doubt it. Sometimes old habits die hard," answered Ryu. "You mentioned Obelisk Blue. What exactly is the highest rank?"

"Well…from what my sister told me…she heard from someone while taking her exam that Obelisk Blue is the highest, followed by Ra Yellow, & then Osiris Red. Those that are in Osiris Red usually end up being pretty lucky," explained Relena. "How'd you do on your test?"

"Me…I've gotten an 880 on mine," said Ryu.

"That would put you in the middle, Ra Yellow. I got a 690 on mine, meaning that I'm in Osiris Red," answered Relena.

"Do you mind if I see your deck?" asked Ryu.

"Sure," she answered, as she handed him her deck.

As Ryu scanned through it, he could clearly see a bunch of Spellcaster-type monsters, as well as a few Warrior-type monsters. It was mostly Spellcaster & partly Warrior. He then spotted her side deck & did a quick examination. Until he came across one Spellcaster card that he thought hardly any duelist would find. It had 1600 ATK & 1100 DEF & was an effect-Spellcaster.

'That's…Magician's Valkyria!' realized Ryu in utter shock & surprise.

"Not too shabby. Pretty decent deck you got there," said Ryu.

"Thanks. This was the first one I created. My sister thinks it's crappy," answered Relena.

"I beg to differ. I think the deck is pretty well tuned. You just need some extra cards. And…I remember telling this to my old friend once when we were little. Remember the love you first felt when you started playing the game. Always remember that. As long as you put your heart & time into your deck & believe in it…you can't go wrong," replied Ryu.

Relena was quite astonished when she heard what Ryu said & appalled. 'Wow…he's not only intimidating & a smooth talker, but very kind too,' thought Relena.

"Might I ask…how exactly you got Magician's Valkyria?" wondered Ryu.

"I got from a booster pack that was sold at a nearby game store near my place. Didn't cost much really," explained Relena.

Just then, the P.A. rang off on the helicopter.

"Attention all newcomers, we're approaching Duel Academia. Please return to your seats & prepare for landing."

"I guess I'll be seeing you around then," said Ryu.

"I hope so," answered Relena.

As Ryu looked back over his shoulder, he noticed that Tobias was still asleep. He then gave Tobias a slight tap on the shoulder, and he stirred slightly a bit.

"5 more minutes, please," mumbled Tobias. Then went back to sleep.

Then Ryu had an idea. He leaned closer to Tobias' right ear & whistled as hard as he could, causing Tobias to quickly jolt awake.

"Mou…what was that for!" shouted Tobias, clearing out his right ear.

"Had to wake you up somehow, sleepyhead. We're approaching Duel Academia already," answered Ryu.

"Oh…really?" wondered Tobias, as he looked from the window.

Ryu was silent for a moment, and then Tobias shook him & told him to take a look at what's ahead.

Ryu hesitated slightly, then looked & saw a small island with a volcano & a huge building in the middle of a huge forest with a supporting body at the bottom, then 3 colored domes on top of it & a huge white one behind the 3, surrounded by 4 obelisks at the corner of ea. part of the supporting body. All in all surrounded by what seemed to be a mountain wall. Then there was a small section for the harbor, which was connected to the main island by a bridge.

"I suppose that's it then," guessed Ryu, as he sat back & prepared for landing.

After the helicopter touched down some time later, the students, already wearing their uniforms, and then made their way to a huge classroom, where a huge screen went off showing a man with blond hair & appeared to be in his mid-thirties, yet he was also wearing lipstick, so it appeared to be, on him as well.

"Welcome, elite duelists to Duel Academia. My name is Chronos de Medici, overseer of Obelisk Blue. The principal of this academy, Sameshima is currently teaching at another school so to speak. So…it's my job as overseer of Obelisk Blue & temporary principal to overlook this academy & make sure that no trouble happens here. As you all have received with your colored uniforms, a DA-PDA. That will tell you what dorm you're in as well as the location of the dorm. Later tonight is the welcoming banquet, so I expect to see you in your utmost behavior. I'm sure you'll enjoy the academy. I will see you all again later," he said, and then the screen went blank.

Tobias turned to Ryu & asked, "What's a DA-PDA?"

"DA stands for the initials of the academy, & PDA stands for personal digital assistant," explained Ryu.

"Isn't kinda weird that the person that was talking a while ago wore lipstick?" asked Tobias.

"Heh…you're telling me," answered Ryu.

As the two went outside, Ryu then spotted Relena sitting on one of the stone carving tablets, looking a bit down.

"Hey…you ok?" asked Ryu, as he sat next to her.

"Yeah. It's just…" started Relena, looking down. "I'm probably the only girl in Osiris Red. It's mostly guys that are in Osiris Red & I'd probably be alone."

"Not necessarily," said a voice, it was a female's.

The three looked up & saw a young girl with dark red hair & a blue braid on the left & right sides of her hair with light green eyes & was also wearing the same color for Osiris Red.

"Name's Taylor Anderson, nice to meet ya," she said in a cheery voice. "What's yours?"

"Relena Darson. I have an older sister that's in Obelisk Blue," she explained.

"Ryu Tanabi, pleased to make your acquaintance," answered Ryu.

"Tobias Gramfield, nice to meet you," he answered.

"At least we'll be roommates," said Taylor, with a smile.

"Sure you'll be ok now?" asked Ryu, with concern.

"Yeah. Thanks guys," answered Relena.

As they were about to leave, a bunch of Ra Yellow boys were watching from behind.

"Well this is a surprise. Couple of girls being in the Osiris Red dorm," said one.

'This doesn't look good,' thought Ryu as he glanced over his shoulder.

"Yeah…they're kinda cute too," said the second, who was shorter.

A third gave a wolf whistle, as he checked them out.

'Oh this had better not turn into conflict,' thought Ryu a bit annoyed & worried. 'I just hope they didn't hear that.'

Unfortunately for him, they did. And then a fourth, fifth, & sixth appeared in front of the two girls.

"Hey cuties. Lookin' fine today. Hope your dueling skills are better than your looks," said the fourth.

Tobias was about to have a word with them, yet Ryu retrained him, & pointed to a small group of guys heading their way.

"What'd you say!" asked Taylor, angrily, holding up a fist.

"Take it easy Taylor," said Relena, trying to restrain her.

Just then, 2 Ra Yellow students & a Osiris Red student appeared behind them. One was a tall young man who looked like one of those smart students that should've been Obelisk Blue, followed by a short guy with blue hair wearing glasses & the Osiris Red student had brown hair.

"Hasn't anyone ever told you it isn't nice to bully young ladies?" asked the tall one.

"Yeah…unless you want to make a scene about it," said the brown haired boy wearing the Osiris Red uniform.

"Uh…Judai…I think he's already got it covered," said the short one.

"What was that!" asked the first of the group.

"Why don't you butt out Judai. This is not of your concern," said the second.

"Oh really…then why not pick on someone your own size? Or…should I report to Prof. Chronos for misconduct, giving you guys detention?" asked Ryu, as he stepped in.

"No one asked for your opinion freshman," retorted the third one.

"So…what's it going to be? Choice a…you leave these ladies alone & go back to the dorm, or b.) Have this young man report you lot to Chronos for misconduct?" asked the tall one.

They were taken aback, but then left one by one.

As Tobias & Ryu went over to meet the trio, Relena turned to Ryu & said, "Thanks Ryu. I owe you one."

"No biggie," answered Ryu.

"Hey…not bad. You put quite a show," said the brown haired Osiris student. "Name's Yuki Judai."

"I'm Misawa Daichi. I suppose that you two are going to be joining me later?" asked Misawa. "Sorry if my Ra Yellow classmates gave the ladies a hard time."

"Name's Ryu Tanabi. This here is Tobias Gramfield," answered Ryu.

"Nice to meet you both. This is Marufuji Sho by the way," answered Misawa, pointing to the short blue-haired boy with glasses.

"H-hello," he said nervously.

"You two ladies all right?" asked Misawa.

"Yes…we're fine…thank you," answered Relena.

"Name's Taylor Anderson. This is Relena Darson," said Taylor, introducing herself & Relena.

"Nice to meet you," answered Relena.

Seeing that the two girls were wearing Osiris Red uniforms, it was clear to Judai that he was going to have some roommates over. "Come on…I'll show you around. Later guys. Nice to meet you Ryu. Same to you Tobias," said Judai, as he led them to the dorm.

"Likewise, Judai," answered Ryu.

"So…it seems that you two are our new classmates," said Misawa.

"Yes. What kind of deck do you use Misawa?" asked Ryu, curiously.

"I have different assortments really," said Misawa.

Ryu's left eyebrow cocked up in surprise. "Really? Then how do you decide which to use?"

"All depends on the situation. I see Duel Monsters as more of a numbers game," answered Misawa.

"Me…I see it more as a combination of strategy, power, & skill," answered Ryu. "Like they usually say…numbers isn't everything."

"True," answered Misawa. "What type of deck do you use Ryu?"

"It's more of an Elemental-Spellcaster deck," answered Ryu.

The right eyebrow on Misawa's face went up with interest. "You don't say. Mind if I take a look?"

"Dozo," answered Ryu.

As Misawa examined the deck slowly, he noticed that Ryu had one card that seemed out of place with his themed deck.

"What's with the Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning?" asked Misawa curiously.

"It once belonged to an old friend of mine. I have his old deck with me as well. Haven't heard from him since," explained Ryu.

"Doesn't he have any parents?" asked Misawa.

"No, he doesn't," answered Ryu. "He doesn't even know who his parents were. He told me that he had foster parents. Yet what surprises me is that they never told him the real truth."

"I see," said Misawa. "Poor thing, not knowing his own real parents. Must be hard on him."

"He told me once that I was like a brother to him," said Ryu. "I tend to thing of him as the same."

"That's good to hear. Considering that my brother has acted differently," said Sho.

"What does he mean?" asked Ryu.

"I'll explain everything after the welcoming banquet," said Misawa.

"There's a welcoming banquet?" asked Tobias, with interest.

"Of course there is silly. How else do you think they'll greet the newcomers," asked Ryu, ruffling Tobias' hair & nearly messing it up.

"Hey…do you realize how much gel I had to use to get this fixed to this state?" whined Tobias, trying to re-fix it.

"HA! And _you_ said I'm trying to impress the ladies," retorted Ryu.

"It's not that. I just like mine the way it is," answered Tobias.

"Well…I guess we'll be seeing you two at the banquet later tonight then," said Misawa.

"Cool. See you there," said Ryu.

Sometime later, the PDA's of the new students started ringing off. It showed the following message: "Welcoming Banquet starts in approximately 12 minutes."

Relena looked over the horizon & notice the sun was setting. She then tapped Taylor on the shoulder. "It's getting close to night time."

"No kidding. It's like…already 6:48 p.m. right now," answered Taylor.

As Judai neared the dorm, Relena tapped him on the shoulder & asked, "Did you hear that there's a new overseer for this dorm?"

"No. I wasn't even informed," answered Judai.

"Well…during the introduction, Prof. Chronos said that to notify all Osiris Red students," said Relena.

"Seriously? I just hope that the new overseer isn't a pervert & all," said Taylor.

"I guess we're about to find out," said Judai.

When they reached the dorm it was already dark.

Once he opened the screen door, he was surprised to see all his Osiris classmates there, yet as he walked around while the 2 girls followed him, the girls noticed that they were being stared at by Judai's classmates. Relena was starting to feel a bit uneasy.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," said Relena.

"Don't worry about it. If anyone tries to mess with you, they'll have to answer to me," said Taylor, hitting her fist onto her right hand.

"That's what I'm here for," said Judai.

"Arigatou, Judai," said Relena.

"No problem," answered Judai. He then looked around again & wondered, "So…where's the new overseer?"

"_That_ would be me," said a voice.

Judai looked over to where he would usually get the food & out came a young woman in her thirties. She had black hair & purple eyes & wore a white suit with purple sleeves, a dark purple skirt, & black high heels.

Relena & Taylor couldn't help but stare at her in awe. Judai looked speechless, just as well as his fellow classmates.

"Konban wa, watashi wa Hotaru Akari desu. Dozo yoroshiku minna-san. I'll be your overseer for this dorm. I know it's usually rare for a female to watch over an all-boys dorm, but I'm glad to meet you all," she said, with a smile. She then noticed 2 girls in Osiris Red uniforms. "Hello…you must be the new students. I'm Hotaru."

"Name's Taylor Anderson. Nice to meet you Miss Hotaru," said Taylor, with a smile.

"Watashi wa Relena Darson desu. Dozo yoroshiku," answered Relena, with a bow.

Hotaru then noticed Judai standing in front of the two girls, still speechless.

"You must be Yuki Judai. Chronos told me all about you," said Hotaru.

"Eh…h-hai," answered Judai.

Hotaru then turned to the rest of the Osiris students. "As your new overseer you might wonder what I know about Duel Monsters. To tell you the truth, I actually know a lot about its history & partly about its origin. I'd be delighted to try & get to know most of you as time goes by. Now…without further ado, please…enjoy your meal." And with that said, she turned & left.

As Judai showed the girls to their seats, Taylor couldn't help but mention to Relena about Marufuji Sho.

"He looks kinda cute, doesn't he? I mean even without the glasses," asked Taylor.

"Who?" wondered Relena.

"That short Ra Yellow student with light blue hair," answered Taylor.

"You referring to Sho?" asked Judai.

"Yeah…who else?" answered Taylor.

"He can tend to be a bit shy at times," explained Judai. "We're actually best buddies."

"Really? You guys met before?" asked Taylor.

"We actually first met when we were taking our dueling exams," explained Judai. "Speaking of which, how did you do on yours?"

"I did all right. I was close to losing though. Had only 200 life points left," explained Taylor.

"What type of deck do you use Taylor?" asked Relena.

"Me…I just use mainly Spellcaster," replied Taylor.

"Really? Mine is also, well…not entirely, but most of it," answered Relena.

"You don't say. What's your favorite Spellcaster?" asked Taylor.

"It's definitely Dark Magician Girl. She's like…the most beautiful of all the female-Spellcasters," replied Relena.

"No kidding. I like Princess Pikeru, because it looks pretty & adorable," answered Taylor.

"Really? Is it all right if I take a look at it?" asked Relena.

"Dozo," answered Taylor, taking the card out of her deck. The White Magician Pikeru did indeed look like a princess, & there was a small goat holding the end of her cape.

"Aww…totemo kawaii," squealed Relena with delight.

After the 2 had finished their small meal, Judai then showed them to their rooms.

"Each room usually has 2 or 3 students per room," explained Judai. "This one is where me, Sho, & Hayato stayed in."

The room's interior seemed pretty simple. There was a desk to do your homework, a bunk bed for 3 students & a sink.

"This seems pretty simple," said Relena, looking around.

"No kidding. It's no wonder Osiris Red students are always picked on," answered Taylor.

"You mentioned about a student named Hayato. Who was he?" wondered Relena.

"Oh. Sorry. Almost forgot you two are new here," said Judai. He then sat down & explained how Hayato was. That at first glance to him & Sho when he was in the same dorm he was before, saw him trying to get some sleep. When they saw Hayato, they thought he looked like a huge killer koala. Relena tried to stifle a chuckle at the explanation.

"He was very optimistic & could also hear the voice of monsters as I could," explained Judai.

"Wow. That's kinda interesting. Though some people would consider guys like you schizophrenic," answered Taylor.

"Meaning what exactly?" asked Relena.

"It means "crazy"," replied Taylor.

"His deck was basically an Australian deck, or an Oz deck to be more specific. Since that was the case, both Sho & I gave him cards that went perfect with his deck. Sho gave him a Des Kangaroo & I gave him a Fusion monster known as Master of Oz, which had 4,200 ATK points," explained Judai.

"Whoa. A fusion monster that has 4,200 ATK strength? That packs quite a punch," said Relena.

"That's true. But I've heard of a card that takes care of those easily," said Taylor.

"What's that?" asked Relena.

"Bottomless Trap Hole. If a monster w/1500 ATK or more is Normal, Flipped, or Special Summoned, it's destroyed & removed from the game," explained Taylor.

"That's pretty sneaky," said Judai.

"I have 2 of those in my deck," answered Relena.

"He went on to pursue his dream of becoming a card designer for Industrial Illusions," explained Judai.

"That's pretty neat," said Taylor.

"Well…I'm going to turn up for the night. See you ladies in the morning," said Judai, heading to the middle bunk. Relena took the bottom bunk, while Taylor took the top bunk.

At the Ra Yellow dorm, both Tobias & Ryu had already finished their fill of having curry meals. Ryu seemed quite used to the spiciness of the food, while Tobias was trying to cool his burning tongue with water, which both Misawa & Sho found quite amusing. Later the two were introduced to the overseer, Kabayama & another Ra Yellow student named Tyranno Kenzan. To Ryu, it was evident enough by looking at the dino-made bandanna on his head that this buff guy had a dinosaur-themed deck. Later, Tobias showed Misawa, Sho, & Kenzan his deck, which was basically a mix of cards with no theme in it.

"I find it easier not to have a themed deck because it give my opponent a much more harder time trying to defeat me," explained Tobias.

"I see," said Misawa.

Sho's deck was more around a vehicle-type themed deck. And Sho noticed that Tobias had a card that was also in his deck.

"How did you get a Jetroid Tobias?" asked Sho, curiously.

"I got it off of a booster pack that I bought at a nearby card-shop several blocks down my place," said Tobias.

"Interesting," said Misawa. "You deck seems to focus more on delaying, & direct attacking your opponent Tobias."

"That's exactly what it seems to be," said Ryu. "After watching him duel on his exam."

Tobias gave a quick yawn & decided to turn in for the night. Ryu decided to do the same & then Misawa, Sho, & Kenzan also made the decision to get some sleep.

The next day, Ryu decided to wake up early & go for a quick jog. As he neared his third lap, he heard nearby footsteps approaching, turned around, yet no one was there.

'Odd. I know someone was following me,' thought Ryu, as he started his third lap. As he neared the halfway point, he heard footsteps again, turned, & this time, he caught a cloaked figure that tried to retreat into the trees. However, he managed to catch a glimpse of the hooded figure. The person appeared to be in his mid-twenties, but the only thing that caught his attention was his spiked black hair.

As he finished his third lap & headed back to the dorm, he thought to himself, 'Masaka. Could that REALLY have been him?'

When the sun was up, Ryu noticed Tobias was a bit asleep, & had to whistle in his ear to wake him up. Tobias suddenly jolted up wide awake & looked around. Ryu had to open the blinds to let the sun in. The bright light nearly blinded him.

"Do you mind closing it a bit?" asked Tobias.

"Well…if I were you, I'd hurry up because class starts in a matter of minutes," said Ryu, already fully dressed.

"Aww man, I'm going to regret that," said Tobias.

"I'll wait for ya downstairs," said Ryu, as he headed out the door. As he waited outside, he thought about what happened earlier as he went for his morning jog.

'Should I tell them? Nah…they'd probably think I'm crazy or something,' thought Ryu. 'Although…there was a dark presence when he was near. But why? Unless…he's looking for revenge. But who is he?'

Just then, a loud shout from Tobias interrupted his train of thoughts. "Come on Ryu, we're going to be late!"

"All right. Be right there," said Ryu, as he hurried up to join his friend as they headed to class.

Just as he was heading there, the hooded figure stalking Ryu, used a transmitting device to tell his partner his location & an earpiece to communicate.

"I've made it to the Academy grounds," said the hooded figure.

"Good. I will meet you there in 3 hours," it replied.

Phew. I'm going to try & start a bit on the 3rd chapter, but won't be able to continue for a while due to quarter exams this week. Life as a junior in high school can sure be hectic. But…I'm going to have to try & manage my time the best I can. Anyway…the next chapter is basically when Ryu & Tobias are tested by Misawa & Kenzan to prove their strength. Meanwhile, from a safe distance from within Academy, 2 mysterious figures make their way into the Academy. One spies on Ryu & his friends, undetected. The other hatches a plan of revenge that will soon spring on Ryu & the others. Also, as the new students get to know each other better, Ryu then learns of the harsh life that she & her older sister had to endure when they were little.

Next chapter: _Test of Strength & Terrible Memories_

Here's a list of Japanese terms that I've used (NOTE: Don't speak Japanese lang. fluently.)

Dozo – Go ahead

Hai – Yes

Watashi wa ……desu – I'm (insert name)

Dozo yoroshiku – Nice to meet you

Minna-san – everyone

Totemo – Very

Kawaii – cute

Konban wa – good evening

Hotaru – firefly

Akari – taken from the word "hikari" meaning "light"

R/R onegai!


	4. Chpt III

**Odd Occurences & A Past Visit: Vengeance of Shadows**

_Hey guys. Sorry for the long delay. Thanks a lot for those that have read this. I really appreciate it. Anyway...just a little heads up...it gets a bit graphic near the end about the problem that haunts Relena still at times. Slight indication of incest, however...that's the problem that haunts her & her older sister. Please try not to feel offended by it as in real life some things are hard to forget (like this)._

_Disclaimer: Don't own YGO or YGO GX or any of the characters, except those listed on OC list._  
__

_**Character List:**_

_**Yuki Judai – Yuki Jaden**_

_**Tenjoin Asuka – Alexis Rhodes**_

_**Manjyoume Jun – Chazz Princeton**_

_**Marufuji Sho – Syrus Trusdale**_

_**Marufuji Ryo – Zane Trusdale**_

_**Maeda Hayato – Chumley Huffington**_

_**Misawa Daichi – Bastian Misawa**_

_**Chronos de Medici – Dr. Vellian Crowler**_

_**Daitokuji – Dr. Banner**_

_**Sameshima – Chancellor Shepard**_

**_Fonda Fontain - _**

_**Tyranno Kenzan**_

_**OC Characters:**_

_**Ryu Tanabi (Spiral Dragon) – 17**_

_**Tobias Gramfield – 15**_

_**Andros Landers – 16**_

_**Baxter Hammingson (Real name: Lazarth Grimstone) – 24**_

_**Relena Darson – 17**_

_**Cornelia Darson – 19**_

_**Taylor Anderson - 14**_

_**Hotaru Akari – 36**_

_Chapter 3: Test of Strength & Terrible Memories_

As Ryu & Tobias headed over to class, he looked around, noticing how big it was & realized that this was the only classroom in the whole school. There was a row for the Obelisk Blue students, & one for the other two. As the two found their seats, Ryu couldn't help but wonder what subject it was he had first. He took a look at his DA-PDA & tried to find the schedule for his classes. Turns out the first one was with Prof. Chronos, which talked about the cards themselves. Next one after that was the history/origin of Duel Monsters with a person named Hotaru Akari. And the last one was art class with their overseer Kabayama.

Ryu looked over the second subject & the teacher.

'Hotaru Akari…is that the new overseer of Osiris Red? A female-overseer…that's a start,' thought Ryu to himself.

"Hey Ryu…your girlfriend's showed up," teased Tobias.

"She's _not_ my girlfriend you twit," shot back Ryu.

Just then as he looked down, he saw Relena sitting next to Taylor, who was sitting next to Judai in the last row. A few seconds later he saw the rest of the class come in & saw Misawa, Sho, & Kenzan take their seats behind them. Then they saw Prof. Chronos appear in front of the class.

"Good morning to you all. For those of you that are new here, my name's Prof. Chronos de Medici. I'll be your teacher for this class, which discusses about the cards that are used in Duel Monsters. That includes discussions of cards that are banned, restricted to a certain number, & those that _used_ to be banned," said Prof. Chronos. He then saw Ryu's hand go up.

"What is your question Signor Tanabi?" asked Prof. Chronos

"Pardon me for intruding professor, but…is there by any chance we might be able to discuss about trap chains?" asked Ryu.

"Hmm…interesting topic that you've brought up Signor Tanabi. Yes…we will go over it. But first…if you don't mind me asking…do you _know_ the meaning of it?" asked the professor.

"Of course professor. You see a trap chain is a series of traps played together in a certain order. When a player activates 2 trap cards in a chain, the 2nd one that was played activates first & the order of the chain activating goes backwards. The same is said if it was 3 or 4 trap cards," explained Ryu.

"Perfect. Bravo…Signor Tanabi. That's exactly the answer I was looking for," said Prof. Chronos. "Now…can anyone here explain to me the use of a trap chain in dueling terms?" He then saw Asuka's hand go up.

"Go ahead Signorina Asuka," said the professor.

"An example of a trap chain is say if you opponent tries to destroy your 2 face-down cards with Heavy Storm. You activate for example Magic Jammer to discard a card from your hand, & chain it with Just Desserts if your opponent has any monsters on the field. If you're opponent has 3 monsters on the field, & you activate this chain, your opponent would lose life points first before negating the magic card," explained Asuka.

"Excellent. That was a brilliant answer. Of course I wouldn't expect anything less from one of my Obelisk Blue students," said Professor Chronos. He then saw Ryu's hand shot up again. "What is it Mr. Tanabi?"

"Pardon me again for interrupting sir, but…there's a trap card that can prove to be useful if you're trying to save your best trap cards," said Ryu. "And it so happens I have one in my deck. It's called "Fake Trap". I'm sure you've observed duelists that were being tested using that card. Whenever your opponent targets a trap card by monster effect, magic or trap card, you can use this card as a substitute for your other trap cards. Like what Asuka mentioned in her example, it can be easily used in that type of situation."

"You've proved a good point there Mr. Tanabi. Now…if you don't mind…I'd like to continue the class," said Prof. Chronos. "Now…can anyone tell me the reason why Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning is banned from tournaments?" He then saw another Obelisk Blue student's hand go up again.

As Ryu listened, he obviously knew well the reason of why it was banned from tournaments. It was almost the same reason for Chaos Emperor Dragon – Envoy of the End, except both of their effects was different. Chaos Emperor Dragon required the owner to pay half his/her life points to send all cards on hand & field to the graveyard & on top of that did 300 damage to the opponent for ea. card destroyed. With that card, it can activate one of two effects: Remove 1 monster on the field from play. If you activate this effect, this card cannot attack this turn, or if this card destroyed your opponent's monster as a result of battle, it can attack once again in a row.

Afterwards, Chronos went over the subject of several effect fusion monsters in which he wanted the class to explain what they were.

"Now…can anyone explain to me the effect of Dark Paladin?" asked Prof. Chronos. He saw Ryu's hand go up.

"Yes…Signor Tanabi?" asked the professor.

"It's a fusion of Dark Magician & Buster Blader. You can negate the effect of 1 Spell card & destroy it by discarding one card from your hand to the graveyard as long as this card is on the field. Furthermore…just like Buster Blader's effect when it's on the field, increase the monster's ATK power by 500 for ea. dragon on the field & both player's graveyards," explained Ryu.

"Excellent work, Signor Tanabi," said the professor. He looked around and spotted Taylor looking up at Sho. "Signorina Anderson."

"Y-yes professor?" asked Taylor.

"Can you please explain to the class the effect of Ocean Dragon Lord - Neo Daedalus?" asked Chronos.

"It's effect can only be activated by tributing one Levia-Dragon – Daedalus on your side of the field. By tributing the field card "Umi" on your side of the field, both you & your opponent discard their entire hand & on the field to the graveyard except Ocean Dragon Lord – Neo Daedalus," explained Taylor.

"Yes, good work, Signorina Anderson," said the professor.

Just then the bell rang, signaling that class was over & it was time for break. As Ryu was about to leave, Prof. Chronos stopped him.

"Signor Tanabi…a moment with you if you please," requested Chronos.

"Of course professor," said Ryu, heading down to meet him.

"I must say I was quite impressed by your knowledge Ryu. I should promote you to Obelisk Blue to join my students," said the professor.

"I'd be flattered professor," said Ryu.

"Oh come now, come now…you just barely got close to being in Obelisk Blue…& seeing how well you performed on your dueling exam…I'd say you'd make a great duelist," answered the professor.

"That's great & all professor, but…I was just wondering…can you give me some time to think it over?" asked Ryu.

"Of course, of course. Take all the time you need," said Chronos.

"Have a good day professor," said Ryu, heading out the door.

"Same to you," he called back.

As he headed to join up with his friends, Relena caught sight of him & called out to him. With a smile on his face, Ryu rushed up to join them & Judai.

"That was a very impressive explanation you gave back there Ryu," said Judai.

"Yes…even I'm impressed," said a voice.

They turned around & saw Asuka along with another girl with black hair & green eyes. Relena quickly recognized who it was.

"O-onee-san," she acknowledged.

"Humph…so you made it. Not bad. Course I wouldn't expect someone like you to have tried & make it to a high level with that type of dueling skill," she answered.

"Hey…why not take it easy on your sister a bit? And if I recall correctly, I thought the older one was supposed to look out for the younger one? Isn't that what they're supposed to do or has that completely receded from your mind!" retorted Ryu, with anger.

"Hey…no one asked for your opinion freshman!" she shot back with a glare that would make any newcomer cower. Yet Ryu still held his ground.

"Yeah…well I'm not afraid of you. And despite that fact…I think your younger sister has more talent than you'll ever have. And one more thing…dueling isn't just about getting high marks or winning…it's more on how to have fun & make strong bonds with friends," replied Ryu, with a glint of fire in his eyes.

"Sou ne," answered Judai, backing him up.

"He's got a point you know," answered Misawa.

"I don't have time to listen to this," said Cornelia. And with that said, she turned to leave.

"Hey…the least you could do is congratulating her on being able to pass her dueling exam!" shouted Ryu.

Cornelia stopped for a moment, and then continued on her way.

"Jeez…talk about support," said Ryu, disappointed.

"Gomen nasai, Ryu-kun," said Relena.

"Is your sister always like that?" he asked. Then he added, "Never mind. It's not of my concern." And then he was about to leave when Relena stopped him.

"Matte!"

"Hai?" asked Ryu.

"A-a…ano…arigatou…Ryu-kun," said Relena, slightly blushing.

"Dou itashimashite," replied Ryu, with a smile.

"Ryu…wait up," called out Misawa, as he joined up with him. "That was quite a display of courage back there. Even though you're a first year & all."

"I've dealt with scum like that back then," said Ryu. "She just lacks more understanding is all. I mean…she's the eldest."

"Sounds like someone I know well," said Misawa.

"Who?" asked Ryu.

"His name was Marufuji Ryo. He was Sho's older brother, usually referred to as the "Kaiser" of Obelisk Blue. He graduated not too long ago last year, before the new wave of students came in. He got beat by a guy in the Pro Leagues named Edo Phoenix, who used a similar deck to that of Judai. However…we just learned now that Judai has a new deck that beat his deck. After Ryo lost, he got thrown into a dueling ring that was used for entertainment, won…but now he has a changed attitude," explained Misawa.

"How?" asked Ryu.

"He usually doesn't have that drive for winning whatever the cost no matter who got in the way. He usually showed respect to duelists whether it meant winning or losing. But now with that attitude gone & this new one replacing it…I just don't know what to think of him anymore," answered Misawa.

"Sou desu. This guy seems to have trouble trying not to let his emotions run over him…but that duel in particular was just downright wrong & illegal," replied Ryu.

"I agree," said Judai, joining up with them. "Speaking of which…what type of deck do you use?"

"Elemental-Spellcaster," said Ryu. "What about you Judai?"

"Me…I use an E-Hero Neo deck," answered Judai.

"Heh…I see you're the lucky man who discovered the new deck somehow," answered Ryu.

"How'd you know about this?" asked Judai.

"When I was 10, as I was accompanying my father to work, I came across a young man that was talking about putting a Duel Monsters deck into space to collect different auras. At that time I was interested into Duel Monsters & found it a lot of fun," said Ryu.

"That young man happens to be Seto Kaiba of Kaiba Corp. who started the Battle City tournament," said Misawa.

Ryu's left eyebrow went up in a slight surprise. "You don't say?"

"Well of course. He's the one who created the Duel Disks," said Misawa.

"True. But…back then in ancient Egypt they had something similar to that," said Ryu.

"How do you know all this stuff?" asked Judai.

"When my father passed away when I was 12, his best friend was going on an expedition in Egypt & invited me along. As we explored caves & pyramids, my eyes came across a tablet which depicted, although slightly worn out…what appeared to be the ancient form of the modern-day Duel Disks that we have today. However…I still haven't found out what it was yet," explained Ryu.

"I see. Interesting," answered Misawa.

A few seconds later, the bell rang again, signaling the start of the second class, which was the history & origin of Duel Monsters. Sho managed to catch up with them as soon as the bell rang.

"Hey Ryu, do you wonder who the new teacher is?" asked Sho.

"A bit…and…not," he answered. As soon as he headed to class & took his seat, he was quite surprised at the noise level. Almost all the Ra Yellow & Obelisk Blue students, including the Obelisk Blue Girls were wondering about who the new teachers were. Only the Osiris Red students were quiet since their teacher was their overseer. As soon as she entered, almost all the guys were in awe, especially Ryu who just couldn't help but stare for a few seconds. She had black hair & purple eyes & wore a white suit with purple sleeves, a dark purple skirt, & black high heels.

'She wasn't kidding. She's kinda cute,' thought Ryu. As he looked around at his fellow classmates, he suddenly felt a kind of strange aura. 'What's going on? I suddenly have a bad feeling about this.' He then looked at the teacher & noticed that something was different. 'A blue & green aura…I guess that means she not all that she seems.'

"Konnichiwa, minna-san. Watashi wa Hotaru Akari desu. Dozo yoroshiku," she answered, with a bow. "In this class, we will focus on the historical origin of Duel Monsters. I'm hoping to get to know most of you throughout this course."

After taking attendance, she then began to explain to the class about its origin in Egypt & how the Millennium Items were used to judge criminals as well as summon monsters from tablets.

"Now…can anyone explain to me the uses of some of these items?" asked Hotaru. Ryu's hand immediately shot up.

"Yes Mr. Tanabi?" asked Hotaru.

"The Millennium Puzzle was only for the Pharaoh & he alone had the power to summon the most powerful Duel Monsters of all, which were the 3 Egyptian God cards. The Necklace was used to see into the future & past, the Ankh was used to see into the person's soul & what power was in there, the Rod was more of an extraction device, & the Ring could detect an evil presence & point to the direction of where it was coming from. Think of it as an evil detector. The scale was used just like it was during the judgment period of a person that died. Only this one was used to measure the amount of darkness in the person's heart. And the eye was used to see what creature lurked within the person's heart. Furthermore, the other 6 items were owned by the Pharaoh's Royal Court who had the authority to judge a person," explained Ryu.

The whole class was amazed at how well he knew about the items, especially the teacher most of all. She seemed quite astounded at how much he knew the subject.

"Very impressive, Mr. Tanabi. Now some time later, a great battle brewed between the Pharaoh & a cunning thief who's evil was unimaginable. A great evil had spread & was approaching the city, until the Pharaoh used his most powerful monsters, which is what Mr. Tanabi mentioned, to defeat this evil. Then he sealed away the dark powers, along with his soul," explained Hotaru. She then saw Ryu's hand shot up again.

"Yes, Mr. Tanabi?" asked Hotaru.

"Um…sorry to interrupt again professor, but…I know this doesn't pertain to the subject a bit…however…when I mentioned about the 3 Egyptian Gods…sometime ago when I was 12, which is when I started playing Duel Monsters, a huge could came over the city & the images on my cards began to disappear. Later…it then occurred to me that there were beta versions of them that are hidden within this school," answered Ryu.

The whole class became silent as all eyes were on him. Even Judai was surprised & stared at him with sudden surprise.

'How could he have known about the whole ordeal?' wondered Judai.

"A-all right then. Come & see me after class," said Hotaru. Just a few seconds later, the bell rang again, signaling the end of this class & the start of lunch. Ryu did as she said & headed down to meet her.

"What is it you wanted to talk to me about?" asked Ryu.

"I'm just surprised that a guy like you could've known so much about it's history quite well. How?" Hotaru wondered.

"My father passed away when I was 12 & one of his friends who was going on an expedition in Egypt invited me along. As we explored a certain pyramid, my eyes came across several tablets depicting of what seemed to be some parts of Egypt's history, as well as a carving of the ancient version of today's Duel Disk," explained Ryu.

"Oh…I'm so sorry to hear about your father," said Hotaru, feeling sympathetic.

"Anyway…enjoy your lunch Miss Akari," said Ryu, heading out the door.

"Same to you," said Hotaru, heading outside.

As Ryu headed over to the cafeteria, unbeknownst to him, someone was watching him from outside. The hooded figure followed from the side of the building, when his comlink went off.

"Hawk 01…status report," said the voice.

"Hawk 01 to Hawk 02, I've spotted your target. He's headed over to the cafeteria now, over," he replied.

"Ok. Stay on him till I give further instructions, Hawk 01," it answered.

"Got it, Mr. Hammingson. Hawk 01 out," he answered, & turned off his comlink.

As Ryu entered the cafeteria, he then spotted Tobias saving a seat for him at one of the nearby tables. After getting some grub, specifically curry…he decided to join up with Tobias & the others. He then noticed Relena & Taylor already having their trays with food & decided to invite them.

"Hey Relena…come & sit with us," offered Ryu.

"Arigatou…Ryu-kun," answered Relena, blushing slightly, & both decided to sit with them. Relena decided to sit next to Ryu, while Taylor sat across from her & sat w/Tobias on the opposite side.

"But…aren't you guys supposed to sit with your group?" asked Taylor.

"I'm sure they wouldn't mind," answered Tobias.

"So…how'd the welcoming turn out?" asked Ryu.

"Oh…you wouldn't believe us if we told you," said Taylor.

"Try me," answered Ryu.

Taylor was silent for a moment then said, "Ok. She's like…a total hottie."

Ryu was a bit surprised from her response, considering she was a girl & all. Relena was surprised a bit as well. Taylor noticed the two looking at her surprisingly, which caused her to slightly blush.

"I-i-it's not like I'm a lesbian or anything. I'm just saying she's…" stammered Taylor, still a bit red.

"I get the point. It seems she's teaching the history & origin of Duel Monsters," said Ryu, taking a piece of carrot covered a bit with curry sauce into his mouth. He didn't even wince considering it was still a bit piping hot.

"Dude…you _know_ it's still a bit hot, right?" asked Tobias.

"Look who's talking. If I recall correctly, _you _tend to complain a bit when it comes to spicy food like that. As for me…I've been used to food like this," said Ryu.

"Really? How?" wondered Taylor.

"My father once taught me how to cook this type of food when I was little. I use to help him out with the cooking. I got that part from him," said Ryu, smiling.

"That's cool," said Taylor, putting a piece of tempura shrimp in her mouth.

"Mind if I try one?" asked Ryu.

"Dozo," said Relena, handing him a piece.

"Domo ne, Relena-san," answered Ryu, taking it.

"Dou itashimashite," said Relena, slightly blushing.

Taylor noticed this & whispered to Tobias, "Don't you think something is going on between the two?"

Tobias tried to hide a smile & said, "Yup. I think something is definitely going on between them."

"By the way, you did a good job during class today, Taylor," said Ryu.

"Thanks. Same with you," she replied.

Over on another table, Misawa noticed Ryu & Tobias sitting on a table across from them. Sho noticed Misawa expression & asked, "What's up?"

"I'm just wondering…if that guy is good as he says he is," answered Misawa.

"Why not test their strength in a duel?" asked Kenzan.

"Good idea. You'll be my dueling partner," answered Misawa.

"Yeah and…wha---me?" asked Kenzan, surprised.

"Sure. Why not? Your deck seems pretty useful, possibly against Tobias' deck. That is…if you're up to it?" asked Misawa.

"Of course I am," said Kenzan, enthusiastically.

With that said Misawa headed over to where Ryu & Tobias were sitting, tapped Ryu on the shoulder & asked, "Since you're pretty good at understanding certain cards, why not test your skills in a duel later on tonight?"

"Sure. When & where?" asked Ryu.

"Ra Yellow dueling dome, 6:30 p.m. tonight. And…just for your information…it's a double-duel," said Misawa.

"Tag-team, huh? I'm up for it," said Ryu.

"Good. Well…see you later then," said Misawa, & headed back over to his table.

'This should be interesting,' thought Ryu to himself, as he finished the last of his lunch. And just in time too because the bell rang again signaling the start of the final class. 'Finally…art class.'

As he headed into class, he then spotted his overseer at the front getting preparations set.

"Konnichiwa, Kabayama-sensei," greeted Ryu.

"Ah…Ryu-kun, konnichiwa," answered Kabayama.

"Need some help?" asked Ryu.

"Iie. Daijoubu desu ka," said Kabayama. But as he tried to straighten the supporting post for the blank pages, it suddenly fell on top of him, & causing the paper to scatter.

"Daijoubu, Kabayama-sensei?" asked Ryu, as he helped him up.

"Mm. Chotto," answered Kabayama. "Arigatou."

Just then the rest of the students showed up for art class. Kabayama then gave the class some blank sheets of paper to start off with & told them to try & paint their favorite card on that blank sheet, which took almost like most of the period. Since Judai liked Hane-Kuriboh, he gave it a try. The end result was that it looked more like a Kuriboh that got knocked out. Sho's favorite had to be Dark Magician Girl. The result was more of a kid's drawing version of it, which was still good.

As for Ryu, he decided to draw Elemental Mistress Dryad. His result was an almost exact duplicate of his favorite card. He had all the details right, and then noticed that Tobias & some of Ryu's fellow Ra Yellow classmates were looking over his shoulder. Even Sho, as well as some of the students from even the Obelisk Blue & Osiris Red dorms were looking, including Taylor & Relena.

"Wow…sugoi, Ryu-kun," said Sho in awe.

"You've really got talent man," said Tobias.

"Ah, totemo sugoi," said Judai, impressed.

"Arigatou, minna-san. Dakedo…rakki desu," answered Ryu.

"Iie. Rakki denai desu," replied Judai. "You seem very skilled, Ryu."

"Totemo kirei, Ryu-kun," replied Relena, with a smile.

Ryu was taken by surprise at first & turned a slight hint of red, trying to hide it. Tobias noticed, & poked playfully at Ryu with his right elbow.

"I think Ryu's got a crush on someone," teased Tobias.

"Urusai!" answered Ryu.

"Come on…admit it," answered Tobias.

"Chigau, bakayarou," shot back Ryu.

Just then the bell rang, signaling the end of class. As Ryu prepared his things & headed out, Relena turned to him & asked, "So…you dueling against Misawa & Kenzan after school?"

"H-hai," he answered.

"Gambatte, Ryu-kun," she said, holding his hand for a brief second.

Ryu noticed & both pulled away almost quickly & turned away from each other for a moment, both blushing furiously.

"A-arigatou," Ryu answered quickly, & headed over to the Ra Yellow dueling arena.

Meanwhile, as Ryu headed over to the dueling arena, a cloaked figure watched what happened a few minutes ago, with a slight smirk on his face.

'So…that's his love interest is it? Perfect bait,' he thought.

At the Ra Yellow dueling dorm, Asuka, Judai, & Sho sat in a certain row in the dueling dome.

"Wonder if their going to make it on time," wondered Asuka.

"I'm just curious as to how the duel's going to go," said Sho.

"Hey…you're not the only one who's curious," said Judai.

A few seconds later, both Ryu & Tobias appeared on one side of the walkway & noticed Misawa & Kenzan waiting for them.

"Glad you two showed up. Now just because we're classmates, don't expect us to go easy on you," said Misawa, as the other two made their way to the opposite end of the dueling platform.

"Don't worry. I don't intend to either," said Ryu, with a look of determination on his face.

"Same here," answered Tobias.

"Ikouze Misawa!" shouted Ryu, inserting his deck & activating his duel disks. The others then did the same.

"DUEL!"

"Ore no TAAN, doroo!" said Misawa, drawing a card. "Oxygedon kougeki hyouji de shoukan! Soshite…kaado ichi mai setto. TAAN endo da."

"Watashi no TAAN doroo!" yelled Ryu, drawing a card. "Monsutaa kaado setto! Soshite kaado san mai setto. TAAN endo."

"Ore no TAAN desu. Doroo!" yelled Kenzan, drawing a card. "Giant Rex kougeki hyouji de shoukan. Soshite…sokkou mahou…Dinostamp hatsudou. As long as I have a dinosaur-type monster on my side of the field I can automatically destroy one of my opponnent's cards on the field. And I go with the card on the far left."

"Reverse kaado oopun! Fake Trap!" yelled Ryu.

"Nani!" wondered Kenzan.

"Whenever I have a monster effect, trap, or magic targeting one of my other trap cards, I can use this card as a substitute to save all my best traps," said Ryu.

"Grr…kuso. Giant Rex anata no monsutaa de kougeki," commanded Kenzan.

"Sokkou mahou, scapegoat!" yelled Ryu, revealing his face-down magic card, right after his face-down monster, Critter, was destroyed.

"Critter monsutaa effecto hatsudou. You know what that means," said Ryu.

"You get to choose a monster from your deck & reshuffle," answered Kenzan.

"And I'll go with Kuriboh," answered Ryu, showing the card, then reshuffling his deck.

"Kaado ni mai setto. TAAN endo," said Kenzan.

"My turn," said Tobias, drawing a card. "I'll place one monster in defense & place one card face-down & call it a turn."

"Ore no TAAN, doroo," said Misawa, drawing a card. "Hydrogedon kougeki hyouji de shoukan. Oxygedon, Hydrogedon, scapegoat token de kougeki."

'Heh…this should be easy. Once Misawa summons his dragon, I'll use my Bottomless Trap Hole to remove it from the game,' thought Ryu to himself.

"Whenever my Hydrogedon destroys a monster in battle, I get to automatically summon another from my deck," explained Misawa.

'2 Hydrogen & 1 Oxygen…water. But what monster would plainly become water?' wondered Ryu.

"Tefuda kara…mahou kaado, Cyclone hatsudou," said Misawa. "Your face-down card is destroyed, Ryu."

'Heh…that's the reason why I have another monster in my deck to get it back,' thought Ryu to himself, with a slight smirk on his face, as his face-down card was destroyed.

"Look at him. He seemed glad that his face-down was destroyed," said Sho.

"Unless he's got something planned," said Taylor.

"Looks like we're going to find out soon," said Asuka.

"TAAN endo da," said Misawa.

"Watashi no TAAN, doroo!" yelled Ryu, drawing a card. "Mahou kaado, Gouyoku Natsubou hatsudou. Kaado ni mai doroo. Monsutaa kaado setto. Soshite Hikari Gofuuken hatsudou. And I use it on you Kenzan. TAAN endo."

"Grr…ore no TAAN, doroo!" yelled Kenzan, drawing his next card. "Element Saurus kougeki hyouji de shoukan. Tefuda kara …magic kaado, Earthquake hatsudou."

"Ohhh boy," said Ryu, sensing that it wasn't going to be good.

"This magic card automatically switches all face-up monsters to defense mode. TAAN endo," said Kenzan.

"Here goes," said Tobias, drawing a card. "I flip my face-down monster, Princess of Tsurugi into face-up attack position. And since it's flipped, this monster deals 500 damage to one of my opponent's for every magic & trap card zone on their side of the field. And I choose Kenzan."

"Nani? Ack," gasped Kenzan, as he got hit from the effect, while his life points dropped to 3,000.

Current standing: Ryu/Tobias – 8,000; Misawa/Kenzan – 7,000

"Then I play Jetroid in attack mode & call it a turn," said Tobias.

'Hmm…interesting,' thought Ryu, as turn came back to Misawa.

"Watashi no TAAN, doroo!" yelled Misawa, drawing his next card. "Element Dragon kougeki hyouji de shoukan. Tefuda kara mahou kaado Bonding H20 hatsudou. By combining my 2 Hydrogedon's with my Oxygedon, I can now summon a new monster. Say hello to my Water Dragon in attack mode. Now I'll have my Element Dragon & Water Dragon attack your remaining scapegoats."

"Guess again, I activate my face-down card, Shift. Whenever one of my monsters is a target of a magic, trap, monster effect, or an attack from a monster, I can transfer it to one of my other monsters. And I choose my face-down monster from your Water Dragon's attack."

Ryu's face-down monster was Magician of Faith.

"And due to its effect, I can get back a magic card from my graveyard. And I choose Pot of Greed," said Ryu.

"However, you're down to one defense monster," said Misawa.

"Heh…we'll see," said Ryu.

"TAAN endo," said Misawa.

"Watashi no TAAN, doroo!" yelled Ryu, drawing a card. "Tefuda kara mahou kaddo, Gouyoku Natsubou. Kaado ni mai doroo. Soshite Sonic Bird kougeki hyouji de shoukan. Monsutaa effecto hatsudou. When it's summoned I can choose one Ritual Magic card from my deck & add it to my hand. Then I reshuffle my deck. And I choose Doriado's Blessing."

"Which allows you to summon Elemental Mistress Doriado," answered Misawa. "I saw your dueling test."

"You may think you know what my strategy is…but that's where you're wrong," said Ryu, reshuffling his deck. "Kaado san mai setto. TAAN endo."

"Ore no TAAN, doroo," said Kenzan, drawing a card. "Element Saurus wo ikenie ni. Dark Driceratops kougeki hyouji de shoukan. When this monster destroys a Defense monster during battle, the difference is done as battle damage to the opponent's life points. But since I can't attack, I'll end my turn."

"Here goes nothing," said Tobias, drawing a card. "I sacrifice my Princess of Tsurugi to summon Patrician of Darkness in attack mode. The controller of this monster can choose the target of their opponent's attacks. I end my turn."

"Watashi no TAAN, doroo," said Misawa, drawing a card. "I place one monster in defense mode. Soshite…Element Dragon, scapegoat token de kougeki. Water Dragon…Sonic Bird de kougeki."

"Torappu chain hatsudou!" yelled Ryu.

"What?" wondered Tobias.

"Torappu chain?" wondered Judai.

"Spiritual Wind Art – Miyabi, soshite, Draining Shield hatsudou. Since Draining Shield activated first, I'll gain a boost from your Element Dragon, & sacrifice my Sonic Bird to activate the Spiritual Wind Art's effect, allowing me to return a card on your side of the field to the bottom of your deck. And I choose Water Dragon," explained Ryu.

"Clever move," said Misawa, as he returned his Water Dragon to the bottom of his deck, while Ryu's life points went up by 1,500, brining it to 5,500. "TAAN endo da."

"Watashi no TAAN, doroo," said Ryu, drawing a card. "Field mahou, chikara no Yami hatsudou."

As soon as the field magic card was activated, a sphere of dark energy encircled the 4 duelists.

"That field magic increases the ATK of spellcaster & fiend types & lowers the ATK of fairy types by 200 points," realized Misawa.

"Correct. Soshite…monsutaa setto de shuvih hyouji. TAAN endo," said Ryu. 'Two turns have passed for Swords of Revealing Light so far.'

"Ore no TAAN, doroo," shouted Kenzan, drawing his next card. "Gouyoku Natsubo hatsudou. Kaado ni mai doroo. Shisouchou Arcaheopteryx kougeki de shoukan. Soshite…mahou kaado,

Choushinkayaku Kai hatsudou."

"Nani kore?" asked Ryu in surprise.

"By sacrificing one Bird Sub-Type monster on my side of the field, I get to Special Summon 1 Dinosaur Sub-Type monster from my hand. And I choose Dark Tyranno!" explained Kenzan.

'Uh-oh,' thought Ryu, starting to sweat.

"TAAN endo," replied Kenzan.

"All right. My draw," said Tobias, drawing a card. "I play Monk Fighter in attack mode, then I place one card face-down & then activate the magic card Polymerization, fusing my Dark Blade & Pitch-Dark Dragon to summon Dark Blade the Dragon Knight!"

"Nice timing," said Ryu.

"When this card deals battle damage to my opponent's life points, I can select up to 3 cards from my opponent's graveyard & remove them from play," explained Tobias.

"Some good that will do," said Misawa.

"Actually Misawa…it will. First I'll have my Patrician of Darkness attack your Element Dragon," said Tobias.

"Not quite. Reveal face-down…Last Magnet!" shouted Misawa, revealing his face-down.

"Uh-oh. This is bad," realized Ryu.

"Right you are. You see…it acts like a equip card and once I equip it on a monster…it reduces their ATK by 800 points. And I choose your Patrician of Darkness," said Misawa.

"Oh great. Now he's weaker," realized Tobias.

"Element Dragon…counter-attack!" commanded Misawa.

'I've still got one trick up my sleeve,' thought Tobias, as his life points dropped by 300.

Current standing – Ryu/Tobias – 13,300; Misawa/Kenzan – 7,000

"Now I'll have my Dark Blade the Dragon Knight attack your face-down," answered Tobias.

"You've just destroyed my Carbonedon," said Misawa.

"I go to Main Phase 2 & activate my face-down, Time Seal…and I use it on you, Misawa. This trap makes you skip your draw phase. And with that said, I end my turn," replied Tobias.

'Not bad. But we'll need more than that to beat these two. The third turn has passed already. One more turn & it's done,' thought Ryu. 'Then there's that monster that was sent to the graveyard.'

"Oh no," said Ryu, suddenly.

"What is it Ryu?" asked Tobias.

"There's a certain reason why that monster is in the graveyard," said Ryu.

"What? I made a mistake," asked Tobias.

"I'm pretty sure. Just be cautious on the next turn," warned Ryu.

"I'll end my turn, since I can't draw," said Misawa.

'Something's up. I just can't tell what,' thought Ryu. He looked over to Misawa's end of the field. 'Those two traps cards are just sitting there for some reason. Unless…'

"Saa…omae no TAAN da," said Misawa.

"Wakatteru. Watashi no TAAN, doroo!' said Ryu, drawing a card. "I play Nobleman of Extermination from my hand. This magic card destroys one face-down trap card on the field. If the face-down card is a trap, it's removed from the game. However, if it's a magic card, it's sent to the graveyard. I use it on you Kenzan & on the card on the right."

"I'll use it. Seizon Honnou hatsudou. By removing Dinosaur Sub-Type monsters from the game I can increase my life points by 400," explained Kenzan.

"He has two in the graveyard," said Tobias.

'Something's not right here,' thought Ryu, as he watched Kenzan's life points go up by 800.

Current standing - Ryu/Tobias – 13,300; Misawa/Kenzan – 7,800

"And I'll call it a turn," said Ryu.

"Ore no TAAN, doroo," said Kenzan, drawing a card. "Your Swords of Revealing Light is ended. Field mahou Jurassic World, hatsudou."

"Not good," said Ryu, as his Yami field card was destroyed & a lush green jungle field appeared, along with a volcano in the background.

"This field magic increases the ATK power of all Dinosaur & Bird Sub-type monsters by 300. When a Dinosaur or Bird Sub-Type monster battles, they're not affected by Trap Cards. When one of your monsters attack, my monsters then switch to defense mode," explained Kenzan.

"Pretty clever, Kenzan," said Misawa.

"That's not good," said Tobias.

'Kuso. How can we activate our trap cards if that effect activates?' wondered Ryu.

Kenzan's Black Tyranno was now at 2,900 & Dark Driceratops was at 2,700.

"This is bad," said Ryu.

"Now I'll have Black Tyranno attack your Jetroid & Dark Driceratops attack your Patrician of Darkness," said Kenzan.

"Not good," said Ryu.

"Guess again Kenzan. You're forgetting my Patrician's special ability. I transfer your Driceratops' attack to my Monk Fighter," said Tobias, as his life points dropped by 1,700.

Kenzan then noticed that Tobias' life points didn't drop any further.

"W-what's going on? You're life points should have dropped further," said Kenzan.

"Wrong. You see…thanks to Monk Fighter's effect, I don't take any damage after it's destroyed," explained Tobias.

"Nice," said Ryu.

"Hey…that's just like my Hane-Kuriboh," said Judai.

Current standing – Ryu/Tobias – 11,600; Misawa/Kenzan – 7,800.

"TAAN endo," said Kenzan.

"Here goes nothing," said Tobias, drawing a card. "I play Axe of Despair on my Dark Blade the Dragon Knight, raising its attack by 1000. Then I play my face-down card…Just Desserts on Kenzan. For every monster on your side of the field, you take 500 damage."

"Aaaaggghh," screamed Kenzan, as his life points dropped to 6,800.

"Now I'll have my Dark Blade attack your Driceratops," said Tobias.

'That last card's a trap!' realized Ryu. "Matte…Tobias!"

"Reverse kaado oopun! Eizoku torappu…Kohaku no Otoshi Ana. When you attack, I can use this to negate that attack & make your monster switch to defense mode & once it's in that position…it cannot switch modes," explained Kenzan.

"Grr…kuso," said Tobias, as his monster switched modes.

"I end my turn," said Tobias.

"Watashi no TAAN…doroo," said Misawa, drawing a card. "Mathematician kougeki de hyouji de shoukan. When summoned, I have to place the top card on my deck to the graveyard. When this card is destroyed in battle, I get to draw 1 card. Now…I'll use it to attack your face-down monster, Ryu."

"You've flipped…Aussa the Earth Charmer. When flipped, I can automatically control one Earth type monster on your side of the field. And since Mathematician's the only one on your field I'll use him," explained Ryu.

"Not bad," said Misawa. "I end my turn."

"All right. Here goes," said Ryu, drawing a card. His eyes went wide when he realized what card he just drew. He had a smile on his face.

"Uh-oh" said Judai.

"I play Doriado's Blessing & sacrifice your Mathematician to Special Summon Elemental Mistress Doriado in attack mode. Then I reveal my face-down. Fuh-Rin-Ka-Zan. This can only be used when I have one of ea. Earth, Fire, Wind, & Water type monster on the field, & since Doriado represents one of ea. I can choose one of 4 effects. And I choose number 2 to destroy all Spell & Trap cards on Kenzan's side of the field," said Ryu.

"Due to Mathematician's effect I get to draw 1 card," said Misawa.

"But it doesn't end there. I now use it & switch my Earth Charmer to attack mode & have both attack you directly Misawa," said Ryu.

"Nice timing," said Tobias, as he saw Misawa's life points drop to 5,800.

"I end my turn," said Ryu.

"Ore no TAAN, doroo," said Kenzan, drawing a card. "Shunsoku no Gilasaurus kougeki hyouji de shoukan. Now I'll use Dark Driceratops to attack your Patrician of Darkness."

"Guess again. Reveal face-down…Magic Cylinder. This re-directs the attack right back at you," explained Tobias.

"Agghhh," screamed Kenzan, as his life points dropped to 2,300. "Grr…TAAN endo."

"My draw," said Tobias, drawing a card. "I'll place one card face-down & call it a turn."

"Watashi no TAAN, doroo," said Misawa, drawing a card. "Lithmus no Shigishiki hatsudou. By sacrificing monsters whose combined levels equal 8 or more I can now summon a monster that will surely be your defeat. I sacrifice my White Magician Pikeru & Barrel Dragon to summon Swordsman of Death Lithmus."

A monster that looked like a pro swordsman appeared on the field w/0 ATK points.

"What's with that? He has 0 attack power," said Tobias.

"Looks can be deceiving, Tobias," said Ryu.

"Right you are. You see it gains 3,000 attack for a Trap card that's face-up on the Field. Furthermore it's not affected by Trap cards nor can it be destroyed in battle," said Misawa.

"Uh-oh," said Ryu.

"And I'll use it to attack Tobias' Patrician of Darkness," said Misawa.

"Ugh," groaned Tobias, as his life points dropped to 10,400, & Misawa's monster went back to 0 ATK points.

"That ends my turn," said Misawa.

'There's got to be a way to turn this duel around. But what?' wondered Ryu.

"Watashi no TAAN, doroo," yelled Ryu, drawing a card. He had a sudden look on his face as though the card he drew was what he needed. In fact…it's exactly what he needed. "TAAN endo."

"What's he doing? He left his monster completely defenseless," said Sho.

"Don't forget…he's still got his Kuriboh in his hand to back him up," said Asuka.

"I'm just curious as to what trick he's going to pull off next," said Judai.

"Ore no TAAN, doroo," said Kenzan, drawing a card. "Hyper Hammerhead kougeki hyouji de shoukan."

"You've triggered my trap. Trap Hole that is," said Tobias. "Any monster w/1,000 ATK or more is destroyed. So adios to your Hammerhead."

"Grr…Black Tyranno, Dark Driceratops…Tobias ni direct attack!" commanded Kenzan.

'This'll hurt,' thought Judai.

"Agghhh," yelled Tobias, as his life points dropped to 5,400.

"Soshite…Gilasaurus wo Doriado de kougeki," commanded Kenzan.

"I discard Kuriboh from my hand to reduce battle damage to 0," replied Ryu.

"Nice save Ryu," said Tobias.

"Main reason why I have him in the deck," answered Ryu.

"TAAN endo," said Kenzan.

"My draw," said Tobias, drawing a card. He too then had the same look as Ryu, during that turn. "I place one monster in defense mode & end my turn."

"Watashi no TAAN, doroo," said Misawa, drawing a card. "Blood Vorse kougeki hyouji de shoukan. And I use it to attack your face-down Tobias."

"You've destroyed my Lady Assailant of Flames. By taking out the top 3 cards from my deck out of the game, she can deal 800 damage to your life points," said Tobias.

"Uggghhh," groaned Misawa, as his life points dropped to 1,500. "I end my turn."

"Watashi no TAAN, doroo," said Ryu, drawing a card. "Heh…I now take out Doriado from the game to Special Summon Inferno in defense mode. And there's a good reason why he's called that too, which you'll find out once I end my turn. Right now."

"Ore no TAAN, doroo," said Kenzan, drawing a card. "I use Dark Tyranno to attack Ryu's life points directly & Dark Driceratops to destroy Inferno. And due to Driceratops' ability the difference between my monster's ATK points & your monster's DEF points, goes to you as damage."

"Agggghhhhh," screamed Ryu, as his life points dropped to 2,300. He gasped for a few minutes then had a smile on his face.

"Nani?" wondered Kenzan.

"Inferno monsutaa effectto hatsudou. When my monster is destroyed as a result of battle, it deals 1,500 damage to my opponent's life points. Ending this duel," said Ryu.

"Aggghhh," screamed Kenzan, as he dropped to the floor & his life points decreased to 0.

"Wow…sugoi," said Judai.

"Interesting strategy," said Taylor.

"Yokatta," said Relena.

"You guys really put up a good duel," said Misawa. "Congratulations."

"Thanks," answered Ryu. "Same to you guys."

"Interesting deck you've got Kenzan," said Tobias.

"Arigatou. Yours is pretty interesting as well," answered Kenzan.

After the duel was over, the rest headed back to their dorms. However, Ryu noticed that Relena decided to stay behind for a while & wondered why.

"Doushita? Relena-san?" asked Ryu.

"Ano…Ryu-kun…can I talk to you for a moment," asked Relena.

"Hai," he answered, feeling concerned for her.

As the two headed outside, they were unaware they were being watched by someone from behind the bushes. They then decided to sit near a cliff overlooking the ocean.

"So…what's troubling you?" asked Ryu.

"It's just…after you helped me yesterday…I've been have flashbacks…of my past," said Relena.

Ryu suddenly felt uneasy at the moment, but felt concerned for her & urged her to continue.

"When I was little, I used to play Duel Monsters all the time with my older sister Cornelia after school sometimes. However…one time as I came back home from school, my dad who worked at a car repairing shop came home one night & was acting all weird. He appeared to be drunk & I asked him if he was all right. He said he was fine & so I went to bed. Both my sister & I had separate rooms. My dad somehow snuck into my room, even though I locked the door, & unknowingly in my sleep…" she stopped dead, & her voice began to break.

Ryu noticed this & saw tears in her eyes. His facial expression softened completely & he held her close to him saying, "Daijoubu. You don't have to say if it makes you sad. Listen…why not get some sleep & we can talk sometime later tomorrow. Ok?"

Relena looked up at him with tears still on her face & asked, "Just promise me one thing."

"Of course," said Ryu.

"Promise me you'll never leave me," said Relena, sniffling.

"I promise I won't leave you," said Ryu, holding her close. He then gave her a goodnight kiss before departing. He then heard a rustle in the leaves behind him a few seconds later, whipped around, & looked, but the mysterious person had already fled.

As he was heading back, he was suddenly stopped by an older female's voice.

"I suppose she told you most of it already, didn't she?" the older girl replied.

"Is that you…Cornelia?" asked Ryu.

"Hai," she answered. She was sitting on the branch of a tree & then came down.

"It's obvious you heard everything didn't you," said Ryu.

"So what if I did," answered Cornelia.

"What is it that happened to her that sometimes tends to haunt her so?" asked Ryu.

"Our father was a huge drunk by the time Relena was 10 years old," said Cornelia. "What I'm about to tell you still kept me frustrated all the more even now."

Ryu suddenly felt the hairs on his back go up at the sound of that.

"He molested Relena in her sleep," said Cornelia.

Ryu let out a sudden gasp from his mouth & became utterly stunned. "S-sou," he said softly.

"I heard moaning coming from Relena's room when I came home & wondered what is going on with her. By the time my mother came home, she too suddenly heard the same sound as I did. Once we entered the room, mother became totally shocked & horrified at what she saw. They were both nude & he was fondling her. My mother demanded to know what was going on yet my father who was heavily drunk became violent. I took Relena quickly into my room to shield her from the yelling that was going on. Suddenly, I heard a few punches flying & glass breaking. I rushed back into my little sister's room & saw my dad threatening to beat her. He called her a bunch of disgusting names & pointed the broken glass bottle at her threateningly. I tried to stop him, but he quickly slapped me unconscious. I was out for a few minutes & when I came to, I still heard shouts & threats, this time, coming from the kitchen. I quickly ran over & noticed my dad had gotten out a 40-Caliber pistol & was threatening to kill her. I tried to intervene, but as soon as the shot fired, & I knocked out my dad with a rolling pin, my mother got shot in the chest," explained Cornelia, her voice starting to break as she quickly recalled the horrible ordeal.

"G-gomen nasai," said Ryu.

"I would never forgive him for what he's done. My little sister heard the shot & rushed over to the kitchen. I tried to shield her from the scene, but couldn't to no avail. She rushed over to mom's side & tried to help her while I called in the authorities. While we waited, I tried to take out the bullet & seal the wound. 10 minutes later, an ambulance came by, followed by a couple of police cars. My younger sister & I headed to the hospital with our mom, while my dad was taken away. The paramedics tried their best to stop the bleeding as soon as we reached the hospital. Then a detective by the name of Vanderthall came by & told us to come to the police station to answer some questions. They asked my little sister the details of what happened that day & all I could do was weep, as the events flashed back in my mind," continued Cornelia, tears starting to flow down her cheeks. "After 5 minutes passed, they escorted us back to the hospital, where we were told by the doctors that they couldn't stop the bleeding. Our mom died 3 hours later."

"That's just plain horrible. How could a committed father do such a thing!" said Ryu, feeling her pain.

"We both later went to court to testify against our father. The evidence presented by my sister was as clear as water. Yet…after my father was questioned, he looked at us in the eye, especially at Relena, with tears in his eyes. I looked back with a look of sheer poison & deep hate. I just wished him dead," said Cornelia, her voice a bit louder.

"And you got your wish," said Ryu.

Sniffling, Cornelia said, "Yes…I did. A few months after my dad's conviction, Relena & I along with friends from my school & my sister's, as well as my mom's closest friends & relatives attended her funeral. Relena was very emotional during the speeches about our mom. I completely broke down after reading what my little sister put. And then I almost could hardly continue when I read mine. During the burial, my sister broke down & I found it hard to console her. 8 months later, I turned 18 & my sister was 16. One day, after I came home, I received news my dad had died. I felt glad that he got what he deserved. Like the sweet taste of revenge that I longed to have," said Cornelia.

"That may be true. However…2 wrongs usually don't make a right. And second…I know you find it hard to forgive your father, but the longer you harbor this anger, this fury, this…hatred within you…people will start to become more afraid of you…even your sister maybe…" Ryu started.

"What do YOU know?" shot back Cornelia, infuriated.

"Calm down, Cornelia. Let me finish…say if someone else, not your father, did that to your sister. And you tried to hunt down the person that did it. Once you did, what if your sister was coming home w/mom & saw you beating the crap out of the person who did it. Would that justify what you're trying to do? What kind of an example would you have been for your sister?" asked Ryu, staring her squarely in the eye.

Cornelia was taken aback for a moment, stunned…then said, "I don't know."

"It wouldn't be good, would it?" asked Ryu.

"No. It wouldn't," she answered.

"For your information…the ties that you have with your father may be severed…but he still cares for you. He wanted to apologize, to amend for the mistakes & pain that he's caused to both you & your sister. I suggest you take some time to think it over & when you're ready…head over to the graveyard where your parents were buried & try to forgive him," answered Ryu. As he headed back, Cornelia stopped him again.

"Ryu…wait," she said.

"Yes?" he asked.

"I…I just wanted to say…thanks. For listening," answered Cornelia.

"Dou itashimashite," replied Ryu.

"You know Ryu…" started Cornelia.

"Nani?" wondered Ryu.

"My sister…she really likes you. Just wanted you to know, that's all," she answered, before heading back to her dorm.

As Ryu headed back, his Duel Monster spirit, Elemental Mistress Doriado appeared beside him, saying, "There's an atmosphere of hatred lingering here."

"Hontou? Doko?" wondered Ryu.

"Wakaranai. Demo…it's here," she answered.

As he headed back to the dorm, the hidden figure then used an earpiece w/a speaker to communicate with his partner.

"I want a status report Andros," said the voice.

"I've come across the two hanging around ea. other & it seems that…the girl is his friend," he answered.

"Very good. Meet me back at the abandoned dorm tomorrow in 3 hours," it answered.

"Read you loud & clear Mr. Hammingson," said Andros & switched off his earpiece.

sighs. Finally. Got it done. Things have been hectic for me at the moment. Junior year almost over, having to study for SAT's & finals, not to mention it's the fourth quarter. Anyway…sorry if it's a bit lengthy. Some of the cards mentioned, I'm sure for those that have seen some of the episodes of the 1st season of the English ver. (for those that watch the English version), recognize them as Misawa's cards from some of his decks that he has. As for the character known as Kenzan…it's still unknown as to the English name for some of his cards. However…there are a few that are in the real TCG. The one's that I'm going to list are NOT made yet for the TCG, but might either be made as a real TCG in Japan or it doesn't exist in the TCG, but only in the anime series. (And…these were from the second season, as is he.) (NOTE: I'll only name a few of the cards. Because I've already mentioned the effects of some of the cards. When reading the duel, I suggest reading it carefully. I'll give the names of the cards in English). And…for the first time…I've decided to add a dueling list of terms for those that have trouble understanding what they mean. However…there are some that are cognates (words that when pronounced has the same meaning in English). I'll be adding this throughout the rest of my fanfic.

Anyway…the next chapter is when Ryu has his first exam & his field exam. However…a few hours before the field exam, Ryu notices that Relena is nervous about her field exam because he realizes that she doesn't want to duel against her best friend. So he then talks to Chronos about something that has never happened in a field test at all. (For those that have seen episode 4 of either the Japanese version (for those that watch that version) or the English version (for those that watch that version)…of YGO GX probably know what a field test is). Furthermore…one night both Ryu & Relena have a similar nightmare yet can't figure out the meaning behind it all. And just who is this Mr. Hammingson guy? Why is Ryu's old friend, Andros associated w/him?

Next chapter: 2 Way Field Test! Deciphering the Meaning Behind the Dreams

List of terms used:

Nani – What?

Doko – Where

Hontou – Really (can also be used as a question)

Wakaranai – I don't know

Wakatteru – I understand

Saa – Now

Gomen nasai – I'm sorry

Daijoubu – I'm all right (Are you all right?)

Chotto - a little

Wakarimashita – I understand

Doushita – what's wrong?

Hai – yes

Arigatou – thank you

Domo ne – (same meaning as "arigatou")

Dou itashimashite – you're welcome

San – suffix used for those that are older or for girls

Kun – suffix used for boys

Watashi wa desu – I'm (insert name)

Dozo yoroshiku – Nice to meet you

Minna-san – everyone

Konnichiwa – hello

Dozo – go ahead

Sugoi – amazing

Totemo – very

Kirei – pretty

Ja nai – not

Onee-san – older sister

Matte – wait

Ano – um

Sou ne – that's true

Sou – I see

Yokatta – I'm glad

Chigau - It's different

Bakayarou - You idiot

Gambatte - Good luck

Dueling Terms:

Kougeki – attack

Shuvih – defense

Hyouji – position/mode

De shoukan – summon

Sokkou – quick-play

Soubi – Equip

Eizoku – continuous

Tefuda kara – from the hand

Hatsudou – activate

Monsutaa

Kaado

Setto

Torappu

Mahou

Watashi no TAAN – My turn

Ore "" – It's my turn (a more arrogant form of the one above)

Omae no TAAN da – It's your turn

Mai - # of cards

TAAN endo

Monsutaa Effectto (NOTE: Some duelists use this phrase, but the more common word instead of "effect" is "kouka", which is that meaning.)

List of Kenzan's Cards:

Shisouchou Arcaheopteryx - Archaeopteryx

Tribute: Wind

Type: Bird/Effect

Level: 3

ATK: 300

DEF: 1300

Effect: This monster can attack the opponent's life points directly

Dark Tyranno

Tribute: Dark

Type: Dinosaur/Effect

Level: 7  
ATK: 2600

DEF: 1800

Effect: If your opponent only has monsters in defense mode, this monster can attack the opponent directly.

(NOTE: For those that have seen Black Tyranno in the TCG, it has the same stats as this card. However…in the anime, Dinosaur Ryuuzaki (Rex Raptor) used the effect differently).

Shunsoku no Gilasaurus

Tribute: Earth

Type: Dinosaur/Effect

Level: 3

ATK: 1400

DEF: 400

Effect: This can be Normal Summoned & be treated as a Special Summon. If this is Special Summoned, your opponent can Special Summon a monster from their cemetery.

Hyper Hammerhead

Tribute: Earth

Type: Dinosaur/Effect

Level: 4

ATK: 1500

DEF: 1200

Effect: Return monster's not destroyed by this monster as a result of battle to the opponent's hand at the end of the Damage step.

Kohaku no Otoshi Ana – Amber Pit Trap

Continuous Trap

Effect: Activate this card when your opponent declares an attack. Negate the attack & switch their monster to defense mode. The monster that is switched to defense mode can't change modes.

Seizon Honnou – Survival Instinct

Normal Trap

Effect: Remove Dinosaur-Sub Type monsters from your graveyard out of play. Raise your life points by 400 for ea. Dinosaur Sub-Type monster removed from play.

Jurassic World – Jurassic World

Field Magic

Effect: Increase the ATK & DEF of Dinosaur & Bird Sub-Type monsters by 300. When a Dinosaur or Bird Sub-Type monster attacks, they're unaffected by the effects of Trap cards. When an opponent's monster attacks a Dinosaur or Bird Sub-Type, the monster being attacked switches to defense mode.

Earthquake - Earthquake

Normal Magic

Effect: Switch all face-up monsters to defense mode

Dinostamp – Dinostamp

Quick-Play Magic

Effect: When a Dinosaur-Type monster is attacking an opposing monster, you can destroy a magic or trap card on your opponent's side of the field.

Gouyoku Natsubo – Pot of Greed

(I won't state the effect since it's easy to figure out).

(NOTE: Don't speak Japanese lang. fluently).

(2nd NOTE: If there's anything wrong with my grammatical error for Japanese sentences, I'm sorry. I tend to easily forget what they were).

R/r onegai! (please!)


	5. Chpt IV

**Odd Occurences & A Past Visit: Vengeance of Shadows**

_**Character List:**_

_**Yuki Judai – Yuki Jaden**_

_**Tenjoin Asuka – Alexis Rhodes**_

_**Manjyoume Jun – Chazz Princeton**_

_**Marufuji Sho – Syrus Trusdale**_

_**Marufuji Ryo – Zane Trusdale**_

_**Maeda Hayato – Chumley Huffington**_

_**Misawa Daichi – Bastian Misawa**_

_**Chronos de Medici – Dr. Vellian Crowler**_

_**Daitokuji – Dr. Banner**_

_**Sameshima – Chancellor Shepard**_

_**Tyranno Kenzan**_

_**OC Characters:**_

_**Ryu Tanabi (Spiral Dragon) – 17**_

_**Tobias Gramfield – 15**_

_**Andros Landers – 16**_

_**Baxter Hammingson (Real name: Lazarth Grimstone) – 24**_

_**Relena Darson – 17**_

_**Cornelia Darson – 19**_

_**Taylor Anderson - 14**_

**_Hotaru Akari – 36_**

Chapter 4: 2 Way Field Test! Deciphering the Meaning behind the Dreams

Once Ryu was back at his dorm, he noticed that the lights were almost all off; he noticed that one of them was still on.

'Must be Misawa. Always doing analysis of duelist decks. No wonder he sees it as more of a numbers game,' thought Ryu to himself as he headed into his room & went to bed. However, sleep wouldn't come to him that easily. His mind still was on what Relena told him that night. He still found it quite disturbing & not only that…but his cheeks suddenly flushed when he thought of her.

'No. There's no way I could be thinking of her like that. But why?' Ryu wondered.

He tossed & turned; unaware of the fact that Tobias could hear him from next door.

'Something seems wrong with Ryu now. I didn't even realize that he was gone for this long. But for what reason?' wondered Tobias. 'Surely he couldn't already be thinkin' about that girl that's in Osiris Red. I mean disregard the cliché, even though it's rare to have one in Osiris Red, much less than have a female overseer for a lower class for that matter.'

As Tobias went back to sleep, Ryu was already starting to mumble in his sleep, as well as finding it hard to get some sleep.

He was standing on one end of the dueling field, with Judai right beside him. They were both dueling two other guys, both whose voices rang a familiar bell, but he couldn't tell who. He suddenly heard a girl screaming for help, & looked on his right & noticed Relena & Asuka tied up & secured to a tree. It was his turn & he manages to pull off his full elemental combo defeating one of the duelists & Judai defeated the other.

But just when things couldn't get anymore weirder, his senses kicked in as he noticed the one on his left pulled out a revolver & was about to aim for him. He then heard Judai shout "Abunai, Ryu!" And then he heard a gun shot.

Ryu suddenly jolted upright, & his face was covered in sweat & was breathing heavily.

'Masaka. Did I just foresee my own death…or was that some sort of terrible nightmare?' wondered Ryu, shaking all of a sudden. He tried to go back to sleep, but for some reason he couldn't shake that image off his mind.

Also, in the Osiris Red dorm, Relena was tossing & turning in her sleep, as well as mumbling. Luckily for her, Judai & Taylor couldn't hear her.

She was tied to tree branch & suspended over 15 feet above the jagged rocks that were being pounded by the waves. Asuka was also tied as well. As she looked to her right, she noticed Judai & Ryu dueling two hooded people. When Judai & Ryu won the duel, the first hooded figure pulled out a revolver & she heard Judai shout "Abunai, Ryu!"

"Ryu-kun!" she cried out.

And then a shot was fired.

Relena quickly awoke & quickly looked around the room. Then at her chest & then checked to see if she awoke either Judai or Taylor. Luckily for her, she didn't. Sweat began to drip down her face & she was breathing rapidly.

'It was just a dream. But it looked so real,' she thought. She then looked at the window & wondered, 'I hope Ryu's all right. Still even though we've known ea. other for several days now…I just can't seem to figure out why I'm thinking about him.' She tried to sleep again, but found it hard & decided to head quietly outside for some air. Unbeknownst to her, she was being watched as she was heading out. As she looked around, she noticed the room where they usually eat was on.

'That's odd. It's late. Unless…our overseer is still awake,' she thought to herself, & decided to check it out.

When she entered, she noticed Hotaru sitting down at one of the tables, sipping some tea. Hotaru noticed her enter & asked, "What's wrong? Can't sleep?"

Relena shook her head, facing down.

"Would you like to talk about it?" she asked, concerned.

"Y-yes. That's the reason why I came to see you," Relena answered.

"Sou desu," she answered.

As Relena sat next to her overseer, Hotaru offered her some tea & she gladly accepted it. Relena quietly sipped her tea, while quietly thinking about how to explain to Hotaru her…nightmare.

She tried her best to explain the whole thing from memory, but shuddered now at the very thought of it. Relena managed to explain everything in detail to Hotaru, who was quietly contemplating about the meaning & then realized something.

Relena noticed this & asked, "What is it?"

Hotaru quietly sipped her tea, turned to her & said, "To find that what was lost, you must look back to the past."

Relena cocked her head in confusion. "Huh?"

Hotaru chuckled at her expression & asked, "Don't get me wrong, but…what is it about Ryu that gets you so interested in him?"

Relena slightly blushed at her question, realizing that this was a bit personal.

"Daijoubu. We're both girls. You can tell me," answered Hotaru.

"Ano…he's very thoughtful & caring. Plus…he also seems to make dueling more interesting & fun," said Relena, blushing.

"Teehee…seems to me you have a crush on him," teased Hotaru.

"Eh? W-what do you mean?" asked Relena.

"Don't worry…you'll figure it out soon," said Hotaru.

"So…what about the dream?" asked Relena.

"It seems that someone has a grudge on Ryu & is using those closest to him as bait. I don't know who this person is…but…be on your guard," warned Hotaru.

"Hai. Ano…arigatou Hotaru-sensei," replied Relena.

"Dou itashimashite. Feel free to come by here anytime," she answered, with a smile.

After Relena finished her tea, feeling comforted & relieved, she went back to the room where Judai & Taylor were sleeping & climbed back into bed. By the time she woke up, it was already 7:00 in the morning. As soon as she got out of bed, she noticed that Judai was still asleep & Taylor was fully dressed. Relena tried to gently shake up Judai, but instead of waking up, he was talking in his sleep.

'Mou…what is it going to take to wake him?' wondered Relena. Then she had an idea. She reached into her pocket & pulled out a fox whistle. She then turned to Taylor, tapped her on the shoulder & said, "I think you'd better plug your ears."

"Why?" asked Taylor. Relena held up her whistle. "Oh…I get it."

Once Taylor plugged her ears, Relena used earplugs to muffle the loud sound the whistle would then make. She took a deep breath & blew so hard that practically the whole dorm could hear it. Judai quickly rose up immediately & hit his head at the same time, looking around the room. Taylor tried to stifle a chuckle at the funny scene while waiting.

"Jeez…you could have at least told me sooner," said Judai, trying to clear out his ears from the loud sound the fox whistle produced.

"If you don't hurry now, you'll be late for the test," said Taylor.

"Wait…a test?" asked Relena.

"You didn't know. We first have a written exam & then a field test," explained Judai. Then he realized that those two didn't know what a field test was. "Almost forgot…you don't know what a field test is. It's when they basically pair up students from the same dorm to duel each other."

"Sounds pretty easy," said Taylor.

"I'm not sure," said Relena.

"What is it Relena?" asked Taylor.

"It's not the test I'm worried about…it's…"

"It's your sister isn't it?" guessed Judai.

Relena was silent for a moment, then silently nodded.

"Hey…at least you're not the only one who had that same problem," said Judai.

"What are you saying exactly?" asked Taylor.

"I'm saying that Sho also had that same problem as well when he was in your position Relena. His brother, Ryo, who was also known as the Kaiser of Duel Academia, used to watch him duel, as though he thought that Sho wouldn't be even close to matching up with him. Don't sweat it. You'll do fine. And it's like Ryu said…the important thing is to have fun while you're dueling. Of course trying to make the grade counts, but…you've just gotta do your best. That's all you can ask for," explained Judai.

"Well said," said a certain voice.

They turned around & noticed that Ryu was waiting at the door.

"Ryu-kun," said Relena.

"Hey…what's up, Ryu?" asked Judai.

"Not much really. Except the fact that you guys better hurry up. The test starts in 10 minutes. The field test comes after that. Of course…Prof. Chronos has already decided the pairs," said Ryu.

"Speakin' of Chronos…have you talked to him yet?" asked Judai.

"I was thinking about that, considering that Relena seems to be having some trouble. However…the request I'm thinking about may seem a bit farfetched," answered Ryu.

"What's your idea?" asked Judai.

"Why not simply have a tag-team duel?" suggested Ryu.

The three Osiris' were completely surprised & in utter shock at his response.

"I-is…that even possible?" asked Judai.

"It's never been attempted before, however…there's no point in not trying," answered Ryu.

As the four made their way to the classroom to get their tests, the bell suddenly rang. And just as usual, Judai arrived late yet again. It was already 8:20 a.m.

"That would be considered late, Judai," said Hotaru. "Don't make me have to report this to Prof. Chronos," warned Hotaru, as she handed him his exam.

'The old fool. Always late & doesn't even realize he's failing most of his classes. If he could just apply a bit of himself, he'd be a great duelist,' thought Misawa, as he continued taking his test.

'This is not so bad,' thought Ryu, as he scanned throughout the test while continuing to work on it. Until he came across a question that rang a few bells. One of them talked about the Egyptian Gods. To Ryu's sudden surprise, he noticed that Hotaru was looking at Relena, & then at him with some slight look of interest.

'Why is she staring at us like that? Unless she realizes something that I don't,' thought Ryu. Then it struck him, causing him to slightly turn red. Luckily he managed to shake it off & focus on his test. As he read the question about the Egyptian Gods carefully, he then realized that something made a bit of sense. 'Since there was a creator of darkness, there has to be its opposite. One of light.'

As the clock ticked down to the final minutes, Hotaru gave the students a 5 minute warning call. Ryu luckily managed to finish most of his exam, while Judai & Taylor were having trouble finishing up. Sho managed to do all right, while most of the class were still confused about the Egyptian God question.

When Hotaru called time, there was a sudden sigh of relief that went about the classroom.

"Don't get too comfortable yet. Your field test will start at approximately 9:30 a.m. sharp. Either be there or be square," warned Hotaru, as she picked up the exams.

As Ryu was about to leave the class, Relena surprised Ryu from behind, causing him to jump.

"Gomen. Um…can I talk to you for a second?" she asked.

"Sure," he answered.

The two then headed over to the stairs & Relena then explained to Ryu about the nightmare she had last night. Ryu was surprised considering that he too had the same one. Suddenly, the answer somewhat came clear to him, but not to her.

"And…I'm also just a bit nervous about my field test," said Relena.

"I can understand that. Listen…I'm sure you'll do fine. I'll talk to Prof. Chronos about this & see what he says about it. K?" asked Ryu.

"Arigatou, Ryu-kun," said Relena, & kissed him on the cheek, causing Ryu to blush a crimson red color. "Gomen."

"Iie. Daijoubu," he answered, with a smile. "Gambatte."

"Hai," she answered.

As Ryu headed over to Prof. Chronos' office, the professor spotted him heading over there.

"Ah…Signor Ryu. Just the person who I wanted to see," he answered.

"Actually Professor…there's something I need to talk to you about," said Ryu.

"Oh please…come in. Do tell," said Chronos, opening the door. "Pull up a chair."

"Thank you," said Ryu, getting the chair in front of him.

"Have you made your decision to go up to Obelisk Blue?" he asked.

"Not quite yet. And that's not the reason what I needed to talk to you about," said Ryu.

"Then what is it?" asked the professor.

"You see…I can tell that usually the field tests have students paired against someone of the same dorm. However…I just had an idea that would seem a bit farfetched to you or to the chancellor, which has never been done before, & is usually done in the arena," explained Ryu.

"Are you saying…you want to do a tag team for a field test?" guessed the professor.

"Correct. I know it sounds silly but…" started Ryu.

"But of course not. It sounds brilliant," stated Chronos.

One of Ryu's eyebrows went up in surprise. "You really think so?"

"I mean sure it's a first but…it's a great way to test student's skills as well as cooperation," answered the professor.

"Well I'm glad you've considered it," said Ryu.

"However…I _am_ curious as to what will be done about it?" asked the professor.

"I was thinking a co-ed battle," suggested Ryu.

"Hmm…interesting," said Chronos. "I'll see what I can do."

"I appreciate professor," answered Ryu.

"I'll see you at the testing field," said Chronos.

"Thank you for your time professor," answered Ryu.

"Oh…not at all. And do tell me when you've made your decision to go up a rank," said the professor.

As Ryu left the room, he then spotted Judai running towards him.

"Hey Judai. What's up?" asked Ryu.

"Oh not much. Just came to wish ya good luck on your field test," said Judai.

"Arigatou. How'd you do on yours when you first started?" asked Ryu.

"Oh…it was awesome," said Judai, & began to explain to Ryu the details of his duel against a former Obelisk Blue student named Manjyoume Jun & his wicked kick-butt combo of evolving Hane-Kuriboh up to lvl. 10 using a card called "Shinkasuru Tsubasa" & obliterating most of his life points.

'Interesting,' thought Ryu.

"Anyway…good luck on your field test," said Judai.

"Arigatou," answered Ryu, as he headed over to the field test site.

Once he arrived he was quite surprised when he noticed that Tobias & Taylor were standing next to each other on one side of the dueling site & Relena on the other side, who seemed to be waiting for Ryu. Then it struck him clear as a bell. 'So he considered then,' thought Ryu.

As Ryu headed over to where Relena was standing, Chronos then appeared in front of the microphone at the main observatory & explained to the audience that the decision of a tag-team on a field test was the first to ever be created in Duel Academia history & introduced both teams.

"Don't think that just because we're friends, I won't go easy on you, Ryu," said Tobias, inserting his deck.

"Don't worry, I don't intend to," replied Ryu, inserting his.

"I wish you the best of luck Relena," said Taylor.

"Same to you," she replied back.

"May the best dueling team win," said Chronos.

"DUEL!" they shouted.

"I'll start things off," said Tobias, drawing a card. "I'll play Moai Interceptor Cannons in attack mode, then flip it to face-down defense mode. Then I'll place two cards face-down & end my turn."

"Watashi no TAAN, doroo!" yelled Ryu, drawing a card. "Des Wombat kougkei hyouji de shoukan. Soshite…kaado san mai setto. TAAN endo."

"Watashi no TAAN, doroo!" shouted Relena, drawing a card. "Ore wa…Blade Knight kougeki hyouji de shoukan. Soshite…kaado san mai settoshi. TAAN endo."

"Ore no TAAN, doroo!" yelled Taylor, drawing a card. "Gemini Elf kougeki hyouji de shoukan. Soshite, mahou kaado, Hikari gofuuken hatsudou. This will stop your attempts at attacking for 3 turns. With that said, I end my turn."

"And with that activated, it reveals your Cannons in face-up defense mode, Tobias," explained Ryu.

"It matters not. My draw," said Tobias, drawing a card. "I place one monster in defense mode, flip my Cannons back into defense mode, then I play my face-down card, Shifting Shadows."

"Uh-oh," said Ryu.

"That's right. Once during each of my turns, I can sacrifice 300 life points to re-arrange the monsters I have face-down," explained Tobias. "Then I play Prohibition. I can declare the name of a card & as long as this is on the field, you can't play that card. And I choose Elemental Mistress Doriado."

"Heh…I had a feeling you would," said Ryu. "Reverse kaado oopun! Magic Drain. Now…by discarding one card from my hand, I can negate the effect of your Prohibition. Plus…if you don't have a card to discard to save your magic card, it's automatically destroyed."

"Shoot," said Tobias.

"You see Tobias…I knew you'd try to stop my Doriado from being summoned. In fact…it's not the strongest monster that should be your trump card, it's the one that will bail you out in tough situations. And my monster is the key to defeating you both," said Ryu, with determination.

"I'll end my turn," said Tobias.

"Thought you would. My turn," said Ryu, drawing a card. "Goyouku natsubou hatsudou. Kaado ni mai doroo. I'll place one monster in defense mode & call it a turn."

"Watashi no TAAN, doroo!" yelled Relena, drawing another card. "SCARABE no Daigun kougeki hyouji de shoukan. Monsutaa kouka hatsudou. I can flip this into face-down defense mode & when flipped face-up, I can automatically destroy one of my opponent's monsters on the field. Then I play my first face-down card, Reckless Greed, this allows me to draw 2 more cards from my deck, but makes me skip my next two draw phases. But I have a trick to break that rule."

'This ought to be good,' thought Ryu.

"I reveal my 2 face-downs, Jar of Greed, allowing me to draw a card from my deck. And since I have 2, I can draw two more cards," explained Relena. "Soshite, Eizoku mahou, Kaiser Coliseum. As long as this card is on the field, if I have more than one monster on the field, my opponent can't play a monster more than what I already have."

'Oh great,' thought Tobias.

"Nicely done," complemented Ryu.

"Soshite…tefu dakara, mahou kaado Double Mahou. I discard one magic card from my hand in order to play your Swords of Revealing Light, Taylor," said Relena.

'Great. Now we're in trouble,' thought Tobias.

"TAAN endo," said Relena.

"Ore no TAAN, doroo!" yelled Taylor, drawing a card. Realizing that her Swords of Revealing Light had worn off, she then had to resort to another strategy. "I play Skilled Dark Magician in attack mode & place one card face-down & end my turn."

"My draw," said Tobias, drawing a card. "I'll sacrifice 300 life points to re-arrange the face-down monsters on my side of the field due to Shifting Shadow's effect. Then I play Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw 2 cards from my deck. Next, I'll play Fusion Sage to get a Polymerization from my deck. Then I reshuffle my deck, & end my turn."

"Watashi no TAAN, doroo!" yelled Ryu, drawing a card. 'That's 2 turns for Skilled Dark Magician.' "I play Sonic Bird in attack mode. Activate effect. When Normal summoned, I can get a Ritual Magic Card & add it to my hand. And I choose Doriado's Blessing. Then I reshuffle," he said. "And then I place one card face-down, & end my turn."

"Watashi no TAAN, doroo," said Relena, drawing a card. "I flip Swarm of Scarabs to attack mode, activating the effect, & I destroy Taylor's Skilled Dark Magician."

"Awww…nuts," said Tobias.

"Then I sacrifice my Swarm of Scarabs to summon Dark Magician Girl. Next, I use Sage's Stone, which allows me to get Dark Magician from my Deck…and summon him. Then I use Mage Power on Dark Magician Girl, which gives her 500 extra ATK points for every magic & trap card on the field. Now I'll use her to destroy Taylor's Gemini Elf."

"Aghhh," screamed Taylor, as her life points dropped to 1400.

"Then I'll use Dark Magician to destroy Tobias' monster on the right," said Relena.

She then destroyed Tobias' Moai Interceptor Cannons. "TAAN endo."

"Ore no TAAN, doroo!" yelled Taylor. "I place one monster in defense mode & end my turn."

"My draw," said Tobias. "Your Swords has ended. I won't sacrifice 300 life points, destroying my Shifting Shadows. I place one monster in defense mode & end my turn."

"Watashi no TAAN, doroo," said Ryu, drawing a card. "I play Doriado's Blessing, sacrificing my Des Wombat, to summon Elemental Mistress Doriado in attack mode, & equip it with Ritual Weapon, raising it's ATK to 2,700. Then I place 2 cards face-down & then activate my face-down, Spiritual Wind Art- Miyabi. By sacrificing 1 WIND type monster on my field, I can send a card on my opponent's field back to the bottom of their deck. And I sacrifice my Sonic Bird, & choose your face-down monster, Tobias."

"Dang," he said.

"Now…I use Doriado to attack your life points directly," said Ryu.

"Agghhh," he yelled, as his life points dropped to 1700.

"I end my turn," said Ryu.

"Watashi no TAAN, doroo!" yelled Relena, drawing a card.

"Elemental TORAPPU CHAIN hatsudou!" yelled Ryu. "I activate my 2 Fuh-Rin-Ka-Zan trap cards & I go with choice B.) To destroy all magic & trap cards on my opponent's side of the field."

"Nice job," complemented Relena. "I summon Gemini Elf in attack mode. And now use Dark Magician to destroy Taylor's face-down monster."

The monster was Mystical Elf.

"Next I'll use Dark Magician Girl to direct attack Taylor & Gemini Elf to finish Tobias," said Relena.

With one command, both monsters depleted what was left of their opponent's life points.

"And that's game," said Ryu.

When that happened, the crowd suddenly went wild with cheers. Judai & the others were quite surprised with how it turned out. Then Chronos spoke on the microphone.

"And that concludes today's tag-team field test," said Chronos.

"Wow…that was some duel," said Asuka, amazed.

"You can say that again," said Judai.

"It's like both sides almost were able to predict each other's moves," said Misawa.

"Putting it in that sense, it looked that way," said Kenzan.

"Nice job. You had me thinking on my feet there Ryu," said Tobias.

"Not bad yourself. Though you just need to find some other cards that might complement your deck & maybe…just maybe…you might have the upper hand next time," said Ryu.

"Great duel, Relena," complemented Taylor. "You've really improved."

"Thanks. You're not so bad yourself. You almost had me running for my money," she said laughing.

"Stop it…you're making me blush," said Taylor, her cheeks growing hot.

As the rest of the students left the stands, Judai came over & congratulated both Ryu & Relena on their victory.

"That was some sweet dueling skills, Ryu," complemented Judai.

"Thank you," said Ryu.

"You guys were awesome out there," said Asuka.

"Thanks Asuka," answered Relena.

"It's no wonder you two seem great for each other," said Sho.

"Sho," scolded the rest of them. Ryu & Relena looked at each other, both turning red, & then started laughing nervously.

Taylor looked at the two with some interest & then walked over to where Relena was & asked, "Um…can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Uh…sure. Um…I'll meet with ya later, k, Ryu?" asked Relena.

"Ah. Dozo," said Ryu, smiling.

Relena blushed again & then went to go talk with Taylor someplace private.

Ryu then turned to the others & said, "I need to talk w/Kabayama-sensei for a moment about something. See ya guys later."

"Bye Ryu," said Judai.

"Hey…wait up Ryu," said Sho. Both he & Kenzan rushed right after him, leaving Asuka & Judai alone in the hallway. Judai then suddenly remembered something & said, "Hey…by any chance, if you've heard…that there was an upcoming prom next week?"

"Yeah. As a matter of fact, I have," said Asuka. "Don't tell me…you were going to ask me out, weren't you?"

Judai quickly blushed, surprised at how fast she was able to figure it out. "Uh…yeah…I guess," he said, starting to sweat a bit, scratching his head nervously.

"Of course I'll be your date," she answered with a smile.

"Arigatou, Asuka," said Judai.

"Don't mention it," she said. "Well…I've gotta head back. See ya later."

"Yeah…later," he said. 'Boy am I going to get it. I asked her out & I'm already nervous.'

As Ryu headed back to the Ra Yellow dorm, he didn't realize that he was being watched again in the shadows. He whirled around, getting that same feeling as before as if someone was spying on him.

He quickly shook it off & headed to the dining room. He then spotted Kabayama there as though he was waiting for him.

"I suppose you came here to talk, yes?" guessed Kabayama.

"Hai…Kabayama-sensei," answered Ryu.

"What about, may I ask?" asked Kabayama.

"Well…to start off…I've been having this feeling like someone's spying on me. Also…I've had this nightmare in which Judai & I were dueling 2 others guys, near the edge of a cliff that had a tree at the end of the cliff & Asuka & Relena were tied to it. We managed to beat the two, but then one of them pulled out a gun & open fired. And…then I woke up," explained Ryu.

"I see. Perhaps the ones pursuing you have a grudge maybe. Maybe it's because of something you did to one of them in your past life," said Kabayama.

Ryu was silent when he heard those words, contemplating on what he meant. Then, it struck him clear as a bell. "I appreciate you're help," said Ryu.

"Not at all. I'm glad to have done so. Though…I suggest being careful. Wandering the grounds late at night is usually not a good thing," warned Kabayama.

"I'll keep that in mind," said Ryu.

As he left the room, he turned on his DA-PDA & then saw Sho & Kenzan enter the dorm.

"Hey…what's up?" asked Sho.

"Can you guys find Misawa? We need to meet outside the Ra Yellow Dorm. I'm going to contact Judai as well to inform him that he needs to meet us here," said Ryu.

"Ok. I'll go get him," said Kenzan & headed over to where Misawa's room was & informed him, while Ryu contacted Judai. Once they were both down, Misawa said, "Mind explaining to me what you called me down here for."

"It's a bit important & it's something that you guys, including Judai…should know. First, we need to head outside," explained Ryu.

Once outside, Sho then spotted Judai coming to meet them.

"Osoi yo, Judai," said Ryu.

"Gomen. So…what's the meeting about? You said it was important," said Judai.

"All right. I'll get right to the point. One night I could hardly sleep & then…this terrible realization came over me. Me & you, Judai, were dueling two guys near a cliff that had a tree at the end of the cliff. Asuka & Relena were tied to one of the branches on the tree, &…we beat those 2 goons, except one of them pulled out a gun & a shot rang out…and…I got hit," he said suddenly.

The 4 were definitely shocked at what was just told.

'Did he just predict his own death? But how is that possible?' wondered Misawa.

"Y-yo-you're kidding…right?" asked Judai.

Ryu sadly shook his head. "No. I'm not. However…I just don't know who got hit. Yet…one of the two looked vaguely familiar to me. The other…I'm not sure. I talked about it with Kabayama-sensei & he said that it's probably something I did in a past life," explained Ryu. Suddenly, the answer came to him. "Where exactly is the library in this school?"

"In the main building, I'm sure it's on the second floor," said Misawa.

As Ryu was about to head over there, Misawa stopped him.

"Wait Ryu…there could be ground guards you know. How do you plan on getting in undetected?" asked Misawa.

"Don't worry. I've got it figured out," said Ryu.

Once he arrived there, he checked to see if there was anyone around. As he made his way to the second floor, he stopped, listened for any footsteps near him & then continued. Once inside the library, he realized it was dark, but just as he was about to make his way to the computers, a hand grabbed him by the shoulder, but he quickly yanked the person forward. He was surprised to see it was Taylor.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I was about to say the same of you," she answered.

"I'm just doing some quick background check on someone," he explained.

"Oh really? Who?" Taylor asked.

"None of your concern," he retorted.

As Ryu started up the computer, he then checked the internet about the tournament that happened some time ago which he was a part of. Then…as Taylor watched behind his back, he whirled around & asked, "Why you still here?"

"Hey…just because you get to use the computer, doesn't mean that I can't look too, ya know?" she said.

"Hasn't anyone told you that it's rude to butt into other people's matters," he shot back. But as he continued to research however, he then came across a huge shocker. "Uso."

"What is it?" she asked.

He came across an article that mentioned about his opponent, Grimstone.

"According to investigators, he led a small gang against a rival gang that started a huge brawl, ending up in most of the members dispersing, but the leaders were caught. According to one member, he turned his back on them by leaking information after the first day he joined Grimstone's group. He was later sentenced to 7 years in prison for armed theft & attempted murder. However…once out…he put himself under a new alias…Hammingson," he read. Suddenly, it became clear as a bell to him.

"I've got to warn the others," said Ryu.

"I need to warn the girls & the overseer," said Taylor.

"It's a good thing you stuck around," said Ryu.

"Hey…we're friends, right? We look out for each other," she answered.

Ryu then hit the print button & as it was printing the article, he turned to Taylor & said, "You need to report this to Hotaru. I'll tell Chronos & explain the whole thing to him in detail tomorrow morning."

Once it finished making two copies, he gave one to Taylor & both of them propelled their way down by using a grappling hook that Ryu kept in his vest. Once down, they both headed back to their dorms, & Ryu then handed the paper to Sho, who was just as shocked & surprised as Ryu was.

"Wait…so let me get this straight…this guy…who you beat…started a gang…and you think he's here on this island!" asked Sho, surprised.

"Yes. My guess is that he's going to use 2 girls that I know…as bait," said Ryu.

"But…if he's here on the island…then how come we haven't seen him?" asked Kenzan.

"Because they're in hiding," said Misawa.

They turned around to face the smart duelist.

"I've overheard what you just said. And it's best not to let our guard down for any moment," said Misawa.

"Which reminds me…one of my cousin's is an engineer & created these tiny tracers. They're pin sized, so they'll fit into you're uniform easily," explained Ryu, taking one out. "I have a tracking device that uses a GPS system, which will be able to pinpoint the location of where they're going to be," said Ryu.

"Very clever. But who are the other 2 for?" asked Sho.

"Since there's 3, my guess is that Grimstone will be wanting me. So…I'll need one of you guys to help me pin the other 2," said Ryu.

"But who are they for?" asked Kenzan.

"Relena & Asuka," answered Ryu.

"I get it. You plan on putting it on their clothes so if they're taken, then you can use that device to track them down," guessed Sho.

"Bingo. You're right on the money, Sho," said Ryu. "I guess I'm going to have to do it myself." He then took out a small firing mechanism in which the front resembled a Blue-Eyes' head.

The guys were shocked that he brought such a thing with him into the premises.

"Relax guys. It's just a small blowdart," he said.

"How is that going to get onto their clothes?" asked Kenzan.

"Simple. These little babies have a small pointed end that will catch onto the clothing & then lock themselves onto the clothing until I deactivate them. Luckily for me…I have another tracking device. And I was thinking of giving it to Taylor," explained Ryu. He turned to Judai. "Can you give this to Taylor?"

"Of course," said Judai & then headed back to his dorm.

"But what are you going to do about it?" asked Sho.

"I'm going to need Judai's help in taking down the perpetrators. Taylor needs to relay the message to Hotaru & Chronos & use the tracking device Judai is going to give her. I've pinned one of the tracking devices on my vest. So…wherever I am…Judai will be there as well," explained Ryu.

"Interesting tactic," said Misawa. "But how do you know what deck type that the 2 will use?"

"I've dueled against Grimstone before in the past. So…it's obvious that he & his accomplice will use different decks. I know what Grimstone is planning. He's going to use a close friend of mine as bait, as well as one from the Obelisk Blue's dorm to test his accomplice," guessed Ryu. "It's too obvious. The accomplice is probably still a newbie."

"Makes perfect sense. But do you know the accomplice?" asked Misawa.

"No. But my hunch is that it won't be easy. And about what I said before…about me predicting my own death…don't worry about it. I'm sure what fate has in store for me I'll be able to handle," said Ryu.

"But there's that chance that you might not be able to come back," said Sho.

"Hey…relax, Sho. I know what I'm doing," said Ryu.

Suddenly, a high-pitched scream was heard in the direction of the woods.

"Oh great. It's started," said Ryu. Suddenly, his PDA rang off. He picked it up & saw Taylor's face on the screen. "I heard the scream & relayed the message to Chronos & Emi-san," she said.

"Good work. Have Judai report back to the Ra Yellow Dorm. We'll head the two off," said Ryu.

"But w/o the tracking devices…how can you find them now?" asked Sho.

"Simple…we'll follow the footprints," said a voice. They turned around & saw Judai coming up.

"I heard the screams as well. One of them sounded liked Asuka's."

"All right. Let's go get them," said Ryu.

"Wait…we're coming too," said Sho.

"Heh…had a feeling you would," said Ryu.

As the group headed over to where they heard the screams, Ryu looked down & saw the footprints. Luckily for him, he kept a small flashlight in handy. As they continued down the forest, Ryu's PDA rang off once again. This time, Chronos appeared on the screen.

"Mr. Tanabi. It has come to my attention that 2 students have been kidnapped, am I hearing you correctly?" he asked.

"Yes professor. Taylor should be heading in your direction momentarily with one of my tracking devices. Highest technology possible equipped w/a GPS tracking system," answered Ryu. "Just follow the path that leads to me & you'll find the criminals as well."

"Very well," said Chronos. "I'll contact Ayukawa & have her, Hotaru & Taylor conduct a search. I'll call the authorities."

"Roger. Ryu out," he said, & switched it off. Once in the clear, they then came to a familiar setting. Judai recognized it at once.

"Hey…I know this spot," he said. It was a huge cliff opening with a tree in the middle. Just as Ryu had described. "This is where I fought against a dueling monkey while trying to save Junko."

"Very observant," said Misawa.

"So glad you two could make it," said a voice.

"Show yourself…Lazarth Grimstone!" yelled Ryu.

Then out of the shadows came 2 hooded figures.

"How very observant of you, Ryu Tanabi. Time for you to pay back the duel that you beat me in 7 years ago," he said.

"What are you doing w/Relena & Asuka? Give them back!" demanded Judai.

"But of course gentlemen. That is…if you defeat me in a duel first," said Grimstone.

"I had a feeling your alias was a fake," said Ryu.

"True. But can you guess who my accomplice is? Let me give you a hint…it's a very old friend of yours," answered Grimstone.

Ryu was in total shock. 'Masaka,' he thought.

The 2nd hooded figure unveiled himself. Ryu stared in utter surprise, shock, & anger. The one that stood before him had black hair, green eyes, & a small x crossed scar on his left cheek.

"A-Andros," he said in surprise.

Done. My Junior year has come to a close. And now I have to prepare for my final year. Anyway…this was going to be a bit shorter than expected. Now that the cat' is out of the bag…how will Ryu & Judai handle this situation? Even more…now that Ryu has to face his old friend…who seems to be clouded by anger…makes the situation even tougher. But what's worse is that they're not only fighting for their lives, but also for those that are closest to them. As Ryu confronts his old enemy & friend, can he find a way to help break the vengeful spirit that possess' his friend Andros or will he end up lost to Ryu forever?

The climactic duel between old foes & friends begins.

Next chapter: Conflicting Ends Clash: Judai/Ryu vs. Grimstone/Andros. Duel Against an Old Friend.

Terms used:

Abunai – Watch/Look out

Kun – used for guys, when referring to a friend

Uso – usually means "No way".

Soshite – then

Ah – yeah

Dozo – go ahead (can't seem to remember the other meaning for it).

Hai – yes

Arigatou – thank you

Sensei – usually refers to a teacher

Ano – um…well…

Iie – no

Gomen – I'm sorry

Gambatte – Good luck

Mou – geez

Dou itashimashite - You're welcome

Sou desu – I see

Dueling Terms:

Kougeki – attack

Shuvih – defense

Hyouji – position/mode

De shoukan – summon

Sokkou – quick-play

Soubi – Equip

Eizoku – continuous

Tefuda kara – from the hand

Hatsudou – activate

Monsutaa

Kaado

Setto

Torappu

Mahou

Watashi no TAAN – My turn

Ore "" – It's my turn (a more arrogant form of the one above)

Omae no TAAN da – It's your turn

Mai - # of cards

TAAN endo

Monsutaa Effectto (NOTE: Some duelists use this phrase, but the more common word instead of "effect" is "kouka", which is that meaning.)

r/r, onegaishimasu!


End file.
